The hardline positions taken by Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) that has paralysed learning in public schools for a week has caught the attention from a section of scholars from Gusii region.
Speaking at Menyenya grounds on Sunday, a group of academicians led by Borabu aspiring MP Dr Nyandoro Kambi accused the government of treating the issue lightly and urged TSC to respect the court order that ruled in favor of teachers.
They said the current standoff was a clear indication of the government’s reluctance to honor constitutional organs and warned of a possible educational crisis that might escalate leading to deterioration of educational standards.
“We are not happy with the escalating education crisis in the country. The government should respect the court ruling and that isn’t negotiable. We are seeing a scenario where the country risks losing the respect in education that it has earned for all these years. This issue should be handled with caution and court orders ought to be respected,” he said.
His counterpart, Dr Stellah Omari urged parliament to slash the budget of NYS in a bid to settle the crisis to avert possible delay of examination preparations for learners.
“This is a critical term for many learners as they approach national exams. NYS budget is Sh26 billion and this is should be slashed because the department can cooperate on a Sh10 billion budget. The issue of teachers should be settled once and for all. The scenario isn’t even good for re-election of Jubilee government,” she said.