By Boniface Ongeri
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Following the nationwide teachers strike, no learning has been going on in the school.
A peep into the classrooms doesn’t reveal much. Litter on the floor of Class Three, desks lying in a pile in Class One and a worn out shirt dangling from a window in Class Eight.
But one cannot miss a scribbled message on the black board in Class Seven: "To beloved pupils; we are disheartened to declare indefinite holiday. Come back when the Coalition Government agrees to top up something extra on our meagre salaries."
Some four-kilometres away, at Sabunley Boys Secondary School, students wander in the compound. Others squat under wilting acacia trees to shield the sun away.
The students tell The Standard on Sunday their teachers reported on Monday and Tuesday but did not teach.
Only the headteacher, Yussuf A Abdullahi, taught his lessons.
"The teachers told us they have taken a break. We support them but we are the losers," said Abdinur, a Form Two student.
No learning
A union official said secondary school teachers were also on strike.
"When we set out we thought there would be few individuals who would betray our common interest, but we are overwhelmed by the response. No amount of threats will deter teachers from pursuing their right," said 
On Monday, teachers told pupils to go back home. "On the way to school, our teacher told us not to bother reporting to school, so I went back," said Mohammed Issa, a Standard Seven pupil at Wagberi Primary School.
In Mandera, teachers had cautioned parents they would not guarantee their children’s safety.
A parent, Mrs Saadia Ahmed Ibrahim, said while they sympathised with the teachers’ plight, the Government should reach a compromise to ensure learning is not interrupted.
"I support the teachers because a well remunerated teacher is motivated to give the best," said Saadia.
The Knut Garissa branch chairman Ibrahim Atosh and secretary Ahmed Abdi Hirmoge accused Kuppet of betrayal.
"All teachers are support Knut national officials. We do not recognise Kuppet to bargain for us," Hirmoge said at Garissa Primary School, where more than 200 teachers resolved to abscond duty.
Source: Standard, Jan 24, 2009