A section of poverty ridden teachers in Nakuru are abandoning classes opting to undertake business activities to earn a living.
A spot-check by this writer in parts of Nakuru town on Wednesday revealed that some teachers both Secondary and Primary schools are deeply involved in business activities such as lorry or matatu drivers, motorbike and Tuktuk taxi operators, shop keepers, food kiosk operators among others, either on a part-time basis or permanently.
Some of the teachers who talked to this writer in Nakuru town revealed that low income and work load pressure was the reason they were abandoning classes for business ventures.
A typical teacher Aineah Momanyi who teaches at Hyrax Primary School and who is a part-time lorry driver said he is contemplating quitting his teaching job because of many frustrations involved in the profession.
According to Momanyi, he is a trained lorry driver and has been undertaking the work whenever he is free or during school holidays to boost his income and was thinking of abandoning teaching profession to permanently be on the road.
“If I get a good offer I may not mind quitting teaching. These lorries belong to my relative and I have been thinking of quitting teaching because of so many reasons,” said Momanyi aged 40 who has been in the teaching profession for the last fifteen years.
A former teacher Mary Muthoni who resigned from teaching at St. Michaels’ Primary School in Nakuru a year ago, is currently operating a food kiosk and a beauty shop in Teachers Estate.
She said she is earning more from her business activities than she used to earn from her teaching work and does not regret quitting the teaching profession to permanently concentrate on her business activities.
“The fact that I earn regular income from my business is enough to influence any frustrated teacher from quitting the teaching work. At least every time one has something in the pocket. You do not have to wait for end month or to secure a loan for you to fix a burning issue,’’ said Muthoni.
Nevertheless, local education stakeholders and leaders have warned that the new culture among teachers was compromising education standards.
The Menengai Ward MCA Michael Macharia who sits in the Education Committee in the Nakuru County Assembly said that the Assembly would soon pass a bill to ensure that teachers do not compromise their class work in favour of other engagements.