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"id": 20694,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Ruteere",
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"legal_name": "Silas Muriuki Ruteere",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to thank the Chair for allowing me to move the Motion that this House do now adjourn in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order No.23(1) for the purposes of discussing the current nationwide teachers strike as a matter of urgent national importance. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are all aware that today is the third day of the teachers strike since the schools opened on Monday. This strike is only affecting the public primary and secondary schools. The private institutions are continuing with their learning. Children in the private schools are those whose parents are able to pay. Those parents have enough money to afford to take their children to private schools where they are able to pay for them. The ordinary Kenyans, the poor Kenyans, take their children to the public primary and secondary schools aware that the Government is giving them free primary and secondary education. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the trade unions of teachers, KUPPET and KNUT have said categorically that this strike will continue until what they demand is implemented by the Government. Teachers are on strike for two reasons only; they want the18,000 contractual teachers to be put on permanent and pensionable terms of employment. Secondly, they want an extra 10,000 teachers to be employed to alleviate the current shortage of teachers in both our primary and secondary schools which the Minister for Education in this august House has said time and again, stands at 65,000. A nation’s future depends on how it moulds, develops and educates its youth. Under the current Constitution which we are all proud of, which this House was able to put through to Kenyans and which was promulgated on 27th August, last year, a Constitution that is one year old; gives a lot of Kenyans hope for the future. Article 21(1) states as follows:- “It is a fundamental right duty of the State and every State organ to observe, respect, protect and fulfill the rights and fundamental freedoms in the Bill of Rights.” One of the rights given is in Article 53(1)(b), which states as follows:- “Every child has a right to free and compulsory basic education.” Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, by teachers being on strike, we are not implementing that section of the Constitution. We are denying our Kenyan children their basic human rights. These rights guaranteed to the children by the Constitution should be enjoyed by them. We are the people supposed to see to the implementation of the Constitution. The Government should fully implement the Constitution. The teachers are on strike because they want their children given education that is free and of quality. Without proper staffing in our schools and without enough teachers in the classrooms, children can go to school, but they will not be getting the right tuition. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, spending time in school by the children without the tuition of a teacher is not giving children their basic human rights of education. The teachers on contract are also being discriminated against. The Constitution is against any form of discrimination. These teachers are discriminated because they are trained, qualified and not remunerated like their colleagues who have the same professional qualifications. They are not on similar terms as their colleagues. This discrimination is unconstitutional. We are the people supposed to see that there is no form of discrimination. At least, teachers have come out in the streets saying they do not want discrimination of our colleagues who are not enjoying the same rights that we are enjoying. It is time the Treasury availed funds immediately so that parents who cannot take their children to private schools can enjoy and receive their basic rights. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let the Government employ the teachers and end the nationwide teachers strike. If the strike continues longer, we will be undermining the quality of education that these children will get. At the end of their course, they will not have got what they are required to get. Let the children of poor Kenyans get quality education. I was a KNUT executive secretary for 18 years and I know that the Government does not listen to the teachers and parents unless there is a teachers strike. To get teachers employed, teachers had to strike. To get house allowances, the teachers had to strike. To get commuter allowance, the teachers had to strike. To get salary increments, the teachers had to strike. What does that mean? The poor Kenyan children always went without tuition. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is time that priorities were put right. Our planning should be according to the population growth of this country. If we know we will have so many children in our schools, we should cater for so many teachers in those schools. There is no point of putting up classrooms without teachers. Teachers have a right to be on strike. I support that strike. It is time the Government came in and ended the strike by giving them what they want."
}