Police have assured safety of the 91,000 teachers being trained on the new curriculum, following several attacks by some union leaders.
In a statement on Tuesday, Inspector-General Hilary Mutyambai cautioned individuals against interfering with the exercise, saying police will not hesitate to take stern measures against them.
“Instructions have been given to our county and sub-county commanders, under the supervision of regional commanders, to ensure the training continues uninterrupted,” he said.
“We shall not allow anyone to unlawfully sabotage legitimate activities of the government … those culpable will be apprehended and dealt with according to the law.”
In a statement signed by Antony Munga, the IG appealed to those opposed to the training to follow proper procedures in airing their grievances instead of taking matters into their own hands.
ARRESTS
The training started on Tuesday and will end on Friday.
Already, officials of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) have been arrested in Kakamega and Kibwezi while those in Bungoma and Vihiga are at large.
Police said they stopped the training from taking place in their regions.
But Knut Secretary-General Wilson Sossion said the government cannot use police to intimidate teachers into agreeing to the training.
“We reject any attempts by the government to use force to have teachers in class,” said Mr Sossion.
LARGE NUMBERS
Meanwhile, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), has thanked teachers who reported for the training despite being on holiday.
“Reports indicate teachers have turned out in large numbers in each of the 1,191 zones in the country,” Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said on Tuesday.
Ms Macharia said this is one of many robust training programmes the TSC plans to mount to ensure all teachers are adequately prepared to successfully steer implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
“This week alone, we will train 91,320 teachers to handle Grades 1-3 and Grade 4. The CBC was in January implemented up to Grade 3. It will be implemented for Grade 4 learners in 2020, so we have moved fast in preparing,” Ms Macharia.
The training this week will involve headmasters and teachers in early-year education, Grade 4 and private schools.
