Teachers in Nakuru have rejected the Sh9.3 billion allowance deal offered by the government saying it blocks many of them from being beneficiaries.
Led by the branch executive secretary Njau Kuria, members of the Kenya Union of Teachers (Knut) said that the government should reconsider the terms tied to the allowances adding that teachers should be given the full package in addition to allowances if they are to go back to school.
Kuria also objected the restriction of age saying the age bracket will block most teachers from benefiting from the allowances as most teachers are employed after attaining 30 years of age.
“We do not want age to be considered while allocating allowances because it is not fair to deny mortgages to teachers above 40 years and those below 30 years,” he said.
Kuria added that teachers will continue to stay out of school until the government honours the 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
“Nobody should intimidate head teachers by forcing them to be in school. School property belongs to Ministry of Education which should conduct supervision during the strike,” he observed.
The more than 8,500 Knut members said they will flush out teachers and students from private schools in a move to paralyse education in the country.
“It is not logical for learning to be taking place in private schools when all children sit for the same national examinations so we are going to move from school to school and close down all private schools to paralyse learning in the country,” said Kuria.
He further observed that students from public schools should be given first priority during selection of form one intake.
To enhance education in public schools, he said the government should provide conducive learning environment in schools currently experiencing flooding of students after the introduction of free primary education