Ford-K youth say teachers' demands for transfer justified

Officials of the Ford-Kenya youth league address journalists at party headquarters on January 29, 2015. They supported calls by teachers seeking to be transferred from northeastern Kenya, saying without security teachers cannot work comfortably. PHOTO | COURTESY | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • At the same time, they have asked the government to guarantee security for all teachers for them to comfortably discharge their duties.
  • National chairman Bernard Wakoli told a press conference in Nairobi Thursday that the government has a constitutional duty to protect all teachers.
  • He said that although it was the responsibility of the government to provide security for every citizen, this has not been satisfactorily done.
  • He said teachers working in the areas where their colleagues were killed by Al-Shabaab militants late 2014 had the right to demand for guaranteed security before resuming duty.

The Ford-Kenya youth league has supported calls for the transfer of teachers working in northern Kenya.

At the same time, the youths have asked the government to guarantee security for all teachers to allow them to comfortably discharge their duties.

National chairman Bernard Wakoli told a press conference in Nairobi on Thursday that the government has a constitutional duty to protect all teachers.

“This country has been treated to an unprecedented spectacle in the education sector lately,” Mr Wakoli said.

He cited various challenges in the education sector, including teachers going on strike over pay, the grabbing of school land and security concerns raised by teachers working in the northeastern region.

“We are aware that teachers from the northeastern parts of the country have not reported to their respective stations since schools reopened insisting that they cannot do so since the areas are insecure.

RESTORE SANITY IN SECTOR

"Kenyans are now wondering when sanity will prevail in this important sector,” Mr Wakoli said.

He said teachers working in the areas where their colleagues were killed by Al-Shabaab militants in late 2014 had the right to demand for guaranteed security before resuming duty.

He said that although it was the responsibility of the government to provide security for every citizen, this has not been satisfactorily done.

“The political leadership in the region has been continuously threatening the worried teachers with dire consequences if they fail to report to their respective schools.

"However, when teachers from the rest of the country teaching in those areas were being killed the political class did not come out to console the bereaved families and provide support,” he added.

Mr Wakoli said it was against this backdrop that the youth league is supporting the transfer of these teachers to other areas where they may feel secure.

“Much as Ford-Kenya is aware that every teacher has taken an oath to teach anywhere in this country, we feel for these teachers and stand in solidarity with them on this matter; the buck stops with the government,” he said.

He said the government must publicly guarantee teachers their security through quick action.