Kapsaret MP Oscar Sudi has urged the national government, under the Ministry of Education, to use the money allocated for the purchase of laptops to settle the teachers’ pay increment as awarded by the high court.
Speaking in Eldoret town on Thursday, Sudi said that it is sad that it is a month since the teachers' strike begun, and that every side is playing hard by refusing to negotiate, affecting poor students in the process.
“Since the laptop project is not vital, I urge the president to use the money allocated for the purchase of laptops to settle the teachers' dues for them to call off their strike and resume duty with immediate effect,” he said.
“Sincerely poor students from public schools all over the country have really suffered, one month without education, they have really lost a lot of time which will hardly be recovered and yet most of them are going to sit for their final exams soon, and how will they compete with their counterparts in private schools and yet they are not in school?” he added.
He reiteriated that education is a right to each and every child no matter their financial or religious backgrounds, and challenged President Uhuru Kenyatta to act with speed and settle the issue to avoid further suffering of poor students in public schools.
“Dialogue is the only thing that could stop the teachers strike, I urge both divides; Teachers Service Commission, teachers' unions and the government to embrace dialogue and call all parties to a round table and settle the matter once and for all for our children to go back to school,” he added.