Category Education News

Hundreds of private school teachers in Nakuru County have had their contracts suspended as the school shutdown heads to the third month.

President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered all schools closed on March 13 to counter the spread of Covid-19 in Kenya.
According to letters sent to the teachers by their employers and interviews with officials of the Private Schools Owners Association, the contracts have been suspended indefinitely.

The schools, in their notifications to the teachers, said the contracts remain suspended because of inability to sustain their payrolls.

Nakuru County Private Schools Owners Association Chairman John Waweru said the institutions took the decision due to the prevailing circumstances.

«Some of our members have delayed the decision as they try to get school fees arrears from parents to keep their staff on the payroll,» said Mr Waweru.

April and May

In one of the letters seen by The Standard, a private school has notified its teachers that the suspension of contract for the month of April and May will be treated like a normal holiday.

«This is taken to save the situation of any legitimacy that may arise later on. We all feel for you but we have nothing to do but to protect the school for future sustainability,» a letter to the staff by St Joseph’s Kirandich Secondary school in Nakuru noted.

The school noted that the staff might not be able to sign their contracts as was the norm whenever school re-opens.
In another letter by Carol Academy, the school notifies all teaching and non-teaching staff of unpaid leave.

Due to unforeseen circumstances caused by Covid-19 worldwide, the board of management of Carol Academy has decided to allow you to proceed on unpaid leave effective April 1, 2020 until further notice as directed by the national government, the letter read.

The board explained that with all schools closed it was difficult to generate income to run operations.

We regret this action but have no alternative as the school is no longer operational. We pray and hope that the situation will improve in the coming days when we shall inform you to resume work,» the letter stated.

Henry Ogada, the principal of Kings Academy, said the current situation posed a challenge in keeping staff on the payroll because private schools were no longer generating incomes.

Findings from a police investigation into the stampede that claimed the lives of 15 pupils at Kakamega Primary School have been handed over to the Director of Public Prosecutions for direction.

According to Western Region Criminal Investigation Officer, Shem Nyamboki, the DPP is yet to communicate on the next cause of action.

The pupils who died in the February 3, 2020 tragic incident that shocked the nation were from Grade Four and Five.
Mr Nyamboki said the DCI was waiting for the way forward from the DPP before proceeding to act.

Detectives recorded statements from 46 pupils, 16 teachers and several other witnesses.

The police had indicated that 15 pupils who sustained injuries in the incident would be issued with P3 Forms to be duly filled by doctors.

Parents affected by the tragedy have been pushing the Ministry of Education to make public the findings of the probe.

Chairperson of the Commission on Administrative Justice Florence Kajuju visited the school with her team and faulted the manner in which the staircases on both ends of the storey building were constructed.

Ms Kajuju had blamed the Ministry of Education for the tragic incident, saying the building had two narrow staircases which could have contributed to the stampede as the classrooms on the third floor of the building had 540 pupils.

She said the classrooms were congested.

The Ministry of Education is not following up to ensure expansion of the infrastructure and teachers in learning institution to match the number of learners. The stairways on the two sides of the building are narrow and have no rails, she added.

The CAJ, known as the Office of the Ombudsman, has the mandate to investigate complaints of delays, abuse of power, unfair treatment, manifest injustice or discourtesy to tackle maladministration in the public sector.

Ms Kajuju noted that the investigation reports will determine long and short-term solutions on the status of the building.

“There should be a staircase for boys, another one for girls and a third one for the teachers to reduce commotion in the building,” recommended Ms Kajuju.