2.4m learners in Kenya have no teachers, says Knut

About 2.4 million students in Kenya have no teachers and go without lessons due to failure by the government to employ adequate staff.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) chairman Wilson Sossion also faulted the government for promising to employ 10,000 teachers, saying the figure was insignificant and “a drop in the ocean”.

Mr Sossion was addressing 6,000 principals during the 37th Kenya Secondary School Heads Association Annual Conference at Wild Waters Centre in Mombasa on Tuesday.

He urged President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to make sure the next elections were held in December when schools are in recess.

“It is the voice of teachers to the two principals that there should be no disruption in learning. We are saying that the elections should be held in December. Between December and January, schools are closed, and we say not any other time should the elections take place,” he said.

Mr Sossion said the education sector, which is the pillar of development, had largely been neglected, resulting in a mediocre education system.

“The recent budget, for example, allocated only Sh120 billion instead of between Sh420 billion and Sh450 billion, which is modest in a budget of Sh1.4 trillion,” he said.

The country has a teacher shortage of more than 80,000, he added.