Teachers now demand guns and paramilitary training over Al-Shabaab threat
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Teachers in insecure regions of North Eastern now want the government to give them guns and para-military training
Teachers in insecure regions of North Eastern now want the government to give them guns and paramilitary training.
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has called on the government to offer paramilitary training for teachers working in insecure pockets around the country and issue them with guns to enhance their security.
According to the teachers who spoke with the media in Isiolo on Wednesday, training teachers on close combat, weapon proficiency, and other tactics would enable them to counter rampant insecurity in the region.
Speaking in Isiolo during this year’s Annual General Assembly, Edward Obwocha who is the Union’s National Secretary rallied the teachers in calling for the issuance of guns and the teachers agreed together in Unison.
Obwocha said that a teacher cannot protect him or herself with a piece of chalk when attackers are confronting them with guns.
“It is true that we have some areas in Isiolo which are prone to insecurity, including Oldonyiro, Merti, Sericho, and Garbatula. We are requesting the government to facilitate teachers by giving them guns to protect themselves in the line of duty.
“We are insisting that the government must provide guns for teachers to enhance their security,” Wafula’s remarks were corroborated by other KUPPET officials based in Isiolo.
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Some officials demanded to be trained by the special forces (Kenya Defence Forces – KDF).
In addition, the union noted that teachers should not be interdicted when they flee from areas where their lives are under threat, condemning the recent move by the Teachers’ Service Commission to interdict teachers who fled from areas in Northern Kenya over insecurity.
In September 2023, hundreds of teachers in North Eastern Kenya demonstrated outside TSC headquarters in Nairobi, demanding to be transferred to other regions.
“All we want is transfer and only transfer. We cannot be under army escort all the time. Even when we are escorted, the armed forces are behind our buses, so we are exposed to danger,” one teacher lamented, as others vowed never to return to their duty stations.
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