Teachers in North Rift schools threaten to strike over insecurity
Police officers inspect the bullet-riddled Mogil Secondary School bus following an attack by bandits on February 17, 2022 which left the driver dead. Teachers in banditry-prone Kerio Valley have threatened to strike over persistent insecurity in the region.
The fate of hundreds of candidates in the banditry-prone Kerio Valley hangs in the balance after teachers threatened to down their tools over the government’s slow response to the persistent insecurity in the region.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) have declared that teachers in the North Rift will boycott supervision of the national exams if they are not assured of their safety in the wake of the rising insecurity in the region.
Should they go ahead and execute the threat, it would mean more than 100 public schools in the region whose learners are sitting this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations will be affected.
The unions’ threat comes on the backdrop of a seven-day strike notice issued to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) by Kuppet over a pay increase row.
In the North Rift, teachers from public primary and secondary schools are concerned about the rising cases of deadly banditry attacks and cattle which have resulted in loss of lives and property.
Students injured
Their concern came a week after 13 students and two teachers from Tot Secondary School in Kerio Valley were injured in an attack that left a school bus driver dead. The attack happened last Thursday in Chesuman, along the Biretwo-Tot road.
In Turkana East, Napeitom Primary School was closed down following a bandit attack, while in Elgeyo Marakwet County, a teacher was among four people killed in the latest attacks this week.
On Thursday, Knut Elgeyo Marakwet executive secretary John Cheberi and Baringo Kuppet executive secretary Zecharia Nyomboi said teachers will withdraw their services ahead of the national examinations in solidarity with their colleagues who have lost their lives in the hands of armed bandits.
Elgeyo Marakwet attacks
In Elgeyo Marakwet, authorities confirmed that the first attack happened in Kipyebo, barely two kilometres from the scene of the Tot school bus shooting.
In another incident, assailants opened fire on herders near Kabetwa in Marakwet East.
According to Deputy County Commissioner Simon Osumba, three people were killed.
In Baringo County, reports indicate that since July last year at least 78 people have been killed by heavily armed bandits suspected to be from Tiaty.
The union officials expressed concern that a majority of primary and secondary schools along the Kerio Valley which borders Baringo, West Pokot and Elgeyo Marakwet have been deserted due to frequent banditry attacks that are now being carried out in broad daylight.
“Learners among them KCPE and KCSE candidates have fled with their parents to safer areas due to fear of fresh deadly attacks that have become the order of the day in the region,” said Mr Cheberi, whose county has been the most hit by the vicious bandit attacks.
Elegyo Marakwet Kuppet executive secretary Paul accused the government of not taking the issue of security in the affected region with the seriousness it deserves.
“The security situation in Kerio Valley is unnerving and that is why we have asked our members to keep off from more than 100 public schools for their safety until the government restores law and order,” said Mr Biwott.
