Many Kenyan teachers are struggling to survive on smaller-than-usual paychecks this month after the end of a country-wide teachers’ strike. The 24-day strike involved 240,000 of Kenya’s public school teachers, who protested to demand a pay increase and allowances originally promised by the government in 1997.
Following an intervention by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission after the close of the strike, Kenya’s public school teachers only received a quarter of their usual pay for the month of July.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), the original striking body, immediately promised to strike again if teachers did not receive their full July salaries. Though President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that they will eventually receive their wages, many teachers struggle to feed their families and pay for necessities while they wait.
Edith Nekesa, a teacher and single mother of three, plans on sending her children away to live with her parents for the coming month, since she cannot afford to feed them. Many teachers are reported to have taken out loans.
Many teachers also worry that the fragile bargain between KNUT and the government will not hold once the school year starts this fall.
The deal reached last month at the end of the strike provides for a pay increase and some allowances for teachers, though less than they expected from the 1997 agreement. It also ensures the teachers’ union’s support of Kenya’s controversial free laptop project.
Despite the controversies of the bargain, public opinion seems to support the teachers’ position.
Albert Mwangi, a Nairobi resident, spoke about teachers’ demands to Think Africa Press: “If a teacher is not able to feed his or her family,” he said of the missing wages, “he or she will not be able to come to class and give quality education to the students.”
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Written by Carla Drumhiller Smith