The Catholic Church wants teachers to call off their strike and go back to class as the government engages with their unions in talks.
Through the education arm of Kenya council of catholic bishops (KCCB), the church said that dialogue between the government and the teachers unions will not bear any fruits if the two sides stick to their hard line stands.
Speaking at the St Mary’s pastoral center in Nakuru on Sunday, Nakuru catholic diocese Arch Bishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, who is the secretary of KCCB’s education arm, said that the church does not support the strike s the means of seeking government audience.
“As much as we want the government to address the teachers demands we also want to appeal to the teachers unions to abandon the strike and seek other diplomatic means of reaching out to the government. The government on its part must stop threatening the teachers but instead employ other mechanisms of bringing them to the negotiating table,” said Muhatia.
He added “the catholic church wants to share the pain of poor parents and students of this country who are the most affected by the ongoing strike. The time being lost will not be recovered and we appeal to both parties to find a quick and lasting solution to this problem”.
The nationwide strike entered its second week today as both the teachers unions and the government continued trading accusations.