Wobbly start for Kisii, Nyamira schools as Kuppet calls off strike

It was generally a sluggish start in most schools in Kisii and Nyamira counties despite Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) officials calling the secondary teachers' strike off late Monday.

A similar trend was observed in the neighbouring Transmara in Narok County.

School heads who spoke with AVDelta News said they were still receiving students by late Tuesday.

A principal at a girls' school in Nyamache for instance said only 300 of the 500 students were in class.

A significant pockets of others were still trickling in.

"Today alone we received about 30 students. They report with parents because they are returning outside the recommended reporting timeframe," she told journalists.

She declined being named in the press.

At Emenwa also in Bobasi where striking teachers stormed and fed students lunch food meant for teachers, only a handful of students were in class.

It was the same at Nyamache Boys and Gionseri Secondary.

And at Moita Mixed Secondary in Transmara South,  school Principal Henry Matonda also reported a tardy start.

The school had received less than 150 of the 400 plus student population.

Some classes were still empty when journalists toured the insititution on Tuesday .

Mr Matonda said they were planning to engage parents on phone if the turn up won't improve by Friday.

"For now I hold on to firm faith that most learners would be in class in the not distant future," he said.

He, however, expressed  fears for the candidates who are still at large.

"We live in an area where a girl can check out of school any time and get married off. All these puts us on edgy," Mr Matonda told journalists.

Moita school is located in a lush sugarcane farming neighbourhood near Nkararo township where children also get subjected to labour in the farms.

Young girls caught up in the intricate web of teenage pregnancies also often opt for early marriages than returning to classes..

Mr Matonda said all these factors complicate the efforts to end child marriages in the vast Narok County.

"It is a situation we are trying to remedy and we are reaping fruits albeit slowly," he added.

He has since intervened in at least three(3) incidents, quickly dragging female students off early marriages to class.

"It is a delicate assignment but we are up to the task and are slowly winning  Our security system is also coperating well to ensure no child is left out," stated Mr Matonda, also Kessha chair in the Sub-County.