This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
As the pandemic continues to ravage the world, private school teachers in Kenya are facing a desperate situation, with many struggling to make ends meet.
According to estimates, over 120,000 of the 155,000 private school teachers in Kenya are struggling to get by, with some unable to meet their basic needs.
Ms Mercy Chepkwony, a teacher at a private school in Marigat, has had to take on a labourer's job at the Perkerra Irrigation Scheme to feed her two children and an ageing mother.
Ms Chepkwony's situation is not unique, with many private school teachers facing a bleak future as they stare at penury.
Kenya Private Schools Association Mombasa branch chairman Elisha Mwango told the Nation that teachers have been evicted from their rental houses after being sent on unpaid leave.
Mr Mwango said that since the suspension of schooling in March, a majority of workers have gone without salaries, with most schools last paying their teachers in March.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has urged private schools to pay their teachers, citing the fact that they are generating e-learning materials for their students and pupils.
However, Ms Lilian Oguta, the director of Lyane Prestige Brain School in Mombasa, admitted that the future is grim, with the situation dire for teachers who are their families' sole breadwinners.
Ms Oguta appealed to the government to consider giving private school teachers a meal or two for their families daily, and to include them in the government Covid-19 support scheme.
Published on July 15, 2020, at 11:17 PM.
