Photo: Obi-Akpere/IRIN

Teachers have given the government a seven-day notice to address their plight.

Kenya National Union of Teachers has said teachers have no choice, but to obey Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo directive banning tuition. But warned the ministry to be ready to face a national strike soon.

"Teachers in Kitui and elsewhere in the country will complying with the Mutula's policy, but I am telling him the teachers are going to teach him a lesson.

A strike is coming next term," said Joseph Makuthu, executive secretary, Kitui branch of Knut. Makuthu said the minister faulted Kilonzo for not consulting Knut on the issue before announcing the ban. "The Knut national governing council will be meeting tomorrow to tell our members the next cause of action and about the forthcoming strike," said Makuthu. "The government should be prepared to deal with the teachers demands that include a pay rise."

The unionist said Knut will be seeking a 300 per cent pay increase. "Mutula must be ready to face the teachers once the strike begins," he said. Meawhile, the Kitui County director of education Pascal Makite said that he was working towards making the entire county holiday tuition free.

He said that reports from the 16 districts under his charge indicated a near total compliance to the tuition ban.He said even private school's are also included in the ban. "I am moving towards achieving a holiday free tuition county. All secondary schools have abandoned the holiday coaching and sent their students home.

The district education officers say they are not sure whether all primary schools have complied. At least six districts have reported total compliance," he said. He at the same time pointed out that students who had paid for the holiday tuition, will get a refund. "It is not a big issue; those students who had paid for tuition will get a refund. There is always a mechanism to do that," he asserted.