The teachers union last night called off the countrywide strike after hundreds of secondary schools had started sending learners home owing to the week-long boycott.

After deliberations lasting the whole day, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) in a joint statement declared a ceasefire, paving the way for the resumption of learning.

 “….TSC has today held bi-partite negotiations with the union with a view to ending the work boycott through alternative dispute resolution as provided for in the Recognition Agreement between the parties. To this end, and after a day-long meeting, we are happy to report that we have reached an amicable settlement which will enable our teachers to resume duty immediately,” read the statement signed by TSC Chief Executive Nancy Macharia and Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori.

The ceasefire came as the true extent of the disruption caused by the strike started manifesting itself in hundreds of schools as the students, mainly from four examination candidates were forced to study on their own as teachers stayed away.

 In other cases, headteachers and local (KUPPET) warned of looming unrest in most of the schools as learners got agitated and threatened to riot over lack of teaching.

Students sent home

A spot check by People Daily in schools across the country showed that only Form Four students still remained in the institutions, with the respective management having sent home the Form Ones, two and three owing to the strike.

At Masii Girls’ High School in Machakos County, learners were sent home at dawn yesterday after spending the whole week since opening without classes. The school’s administration had earlier on Saturday also sent home all students with school balances, only three days after reporting for the Third Term.

In Othaya Boys High School in Nyeri County, students declined to return to their dormitories on Thursday last week and destroyed property before storming out of the institution. Officers from Othaya Police Station went to the school and came face to face with the extent of damage left behind by the protesting students.

Nyeri High School in Nyeri Town constituency, opted to release a section of students to go home, only leaving the Form Four candidates behind. The management of Gitugi Girls’ High School in Othaya constituency also sent its students home due to the continued unrest.

At Kiarithaini High School in Mathira constituency, students walked out a few days after reporting at the institution for the third term. In Tetu constituency, Dr Kamundia Gathuthi Girls’ Secondary School also released its students from the institution while students at Kagonye Boys Secondary School in Othaya constituency went on a rampage, destroying window panes and bulbs before the school was closed indefinitely.

In Kiambu County, a section of learners turned violent and vandalized school property in Githiga Secondary and Kiambu High schools, forcing the management to close the institutions.

Damaged property

At Kiambu High School, the students reportedly attacked the Principal’s office while in Githiga they damaged property protesting staying in school without learning. This comes as Kuppet officials led by the Kiambu County Executive Secretary Moses Thogo and the Chairperson Dr Rose Kiiru maintained that the industrial action has paralyzed learning in all secondary schools. Speaking in Kiambu town, the unionists appealed to parents to go for their children as their safety cannot be assured when there are no teachers in the institutions.

Thogo said the few teachers in school are those hired by management boards and added that the strike will continue until the teachers’ demands are met in full by the government. In Bungoma County, several secondary schools sent home all students home save for the Form Four candidates owing to the ongoing teachers’ strike.

Those that sent home learners in forms one, two and three include Mary’s Kibabii Boys, Friends School Kamusinga National School, St Luke’s Boys Kimilili, Moi Girls High School, Namachanja High School and St. Cecilia Girls School Misikhu. Last week, St Peter’s Musikoma High School was closed indefinitely and students were sent home after they went on a rampage, protesting the lack of learning.

In Uasin Gishu county, there was drama at St Catherine Girls High School yesterday when a section of Kuppet officials stormed the institution and chased away teachers whom they found teaching in classrooms.

Led by the branch Executive Secretary Elijah Maiyo, the officials walked into St Catherine High School at 11 am and demanded to know why their colleagues who are affiliated to the union were teaching and yet their colleagues were participating in the nationwide strike.

Last week, a similar drama occurred at Uasin Gishu High School in Eldoret when members of Kuppet officials led striking teachers to storm the institution, forcing the tutors who were tutoring learners to flee on foot with some members of the teaching staff hiding in the staff quarters.

In the St Catherine High School incident, the Kuppet officials drove in a convoy of three vehicles to the school located 30 kilometres away from Eldoret town after being tipped off that their colleagues were teaching despite a directive from the union that its members should down their tools.

Confirming the incident, Maiyo said they ambushed the tutors in classrooms conducting learning lessons for the students and asked them to get out immediately or face dire consequences for betraying them.

“No learning is going on at the school at the moment the students have been left to study on their own,” said Onyango.

Onyango added that the foregoing situation has also affected student turnout, with more than half of the population of learners at the school yet to report for the third term.

The school has a population of 1,300 out of which only 560 students have resumed learning.

“Most of our students have not reported. We hope to see those missing report back later in the week,” she said.

It was a similar script at Lions High School and Joel Omino Secondary School in Kisumu Central constituency.

In Kwale County, local Kuppet officials vowed to continue staying away from classrooms despite government calls to end the nationwide teachers’ strike.

Kwale Kuppet Executive Secretary Leornard Oronje said teachers won’t bore down to pressure and intimidation until all their demands are addressed.

“No TSC will go back to teaching unless our demands are fulfilled,” he said.

Oronje stated that the strike is ongoing and announced plans for demonstrations in the Samburu sub-county on Wednesday.