Some of the parents during the demonstrations
By Kamau John
Parents at Miiri primary school in Gatundu North, Kiambu County have protested over shortage of teachers in the school claiming their children’s education is in jeopardy.
The school currently has four teachers but only two of them are working according to parents. They cannot effectively teach the over 200 learners in the school.
The parents, led by the school’s PTA Chairman Sylvester Muoria, claimed that since last year some four teachers have been transferred to other schools while two more have retired without replacement by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
Speaking during the protests on Monday, Muoria claimed that they have regularly petitioned TSC to deploy teachers at the institution to no avail adding that this has taken a toll on learners who have not even sat for tests and other examinations since May last year.
“The school has four teachers but only two of them report to duty. In fact, yesterday there was only one teacher. This is a disservice to us and our children. We have raised the matter with all relevant offices since last year and all we have been getting is promises that are never met. We hand been told that teachers would be deployed by January 16, this year but it turned out to be a lie,” Muoria said.
He noted that the two teachers working in the school have been forced to combine classes, a move that is not effective. Parents are worried that their kids’ education has ground halted and they can no longer compete with learners from other institutions.
“Grades 3, 4 and 5 learners are being combined in one class. How will the teacher manage to teach such a class? How will our children cover the syllabus? The government is slowly ruining the future our children and we won’t let this happen,” the Chairman poised.
Muoria said that they have unsuccessfully sought intervention from relevant authorities including the area Department of Education and local leadership. He said that the school requires and addition of about five teachers.
The Chairman quipped that the most affected learners by the shortage are the Junior Secondary School learners saying that they are rarely taught or examined. He said that failure by TSC to deploy enough teachers in the school is ruining the future of innocent children.
Similar sentiments were echoed by parents Lucy Wambui and Elizabeth Mwihaki who claimed that most of them have pulled their children from the school and transferred them to other far flung institutions within the area.
“The school had a high population of learners but most parents have since withdrawn their children. We are playing our part as parents but the government through the Education Ministry and TSC have failed us. We are worried of our children’s academic excellence as well as their future,” Wambui said.
They noted with concern that learners will undergo untold suffering if they are forced to join other schools including Makohokoho, Gachege, and Kamwirigi primary schools which are over five kilometres away from the village.
The infuriated parents said that they will be forced to withdraw their children from the school and seek education elsewhere should TSC fail to address their plight.
“We won’t allow them to go to school until the government deploys teachers. Their safety while in school is also not guaranteed,” Mwihaki said.
Gatundu North Sub-county TSC Director Albert Ngare however acknowledged the crisis at the school noting that some of the teachers have been transferred while others went on retirement.
Speaking in a phone interview, Ngare, however allayed fears of education disruption at the school noting that the Commission has already conducted interviews and that three teachers will be deployed in the school by March 17, 2025.
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