As circumcision season approaches, the Sabaoti community in Cheptais and Mt. Elgon Districts has been urged to shun away from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practices.

The chairman of the Kenya Post Primary Education Teachers KUPPET in Bungoma County Mr. Masai Arap Bokose said it’s a pity that the Sabaoti community is still practicing FGM a practice he termed retrogressive in the 21st century.

Mr. Masai asserted that as a teacher union they will be on the fore front to sensitize the residents on the need to abandon the vice which he said doesn’t add any value to the community.

He said the government should put in mechanisms that will ensure that perpetrators of FGM are arrested and prosecuted to serve as an example to those who are still rigid to let go the vice.

“We don’t find a good reason why the government should remain on the periphery and allow FGM to be practiced in Mt. Elgon and Cheptais districts, as a union we are ready to work with government machineries to ensure the culprits are arrested and charged accordingly,” he charged.

The KUPPET chairman disclosed that FGM is a thorn to the girl child’s education in the region insisting that it is high time the girls in Mt. Elgon are protected from FGM so that they can pursue their education and realize their future ambitions.

“After undergoing FGM the girls believe they are grown ups and can get married thus increasing levels of school drop-up in the region, we say no to FGM, early pregnancy and early marriage in Mt. Elgon” Masai said.

On education, Masai pointed out that as a result of the rag tag Sabaoti Land Defense Force (SLDF)wars in the region in 2006, majority of teachers transferred leading to an acute shortage of teachers in most the schools a situation he said has led to decline in the academic  standards.

Masai urged the Teachers Service Commission TSC to deploy more teachers in Mt. Elgon to enable the region to post good results in national exams.

He said the government should give top priority to Mt. in the teacher recruitment exercise expected sometime this year to put the region in the same playing ground as other regions.

On his part, the Executive KUPPET secretary in Bungoma County Mr. Augustine Luketelo called on unity   between KUPPET and KNUT ahead of the planned teachers strike comes 1st September 2012.

In an exclusive interview with West FM Luketelo warned that teachers are meant to fail if the two unions go on strike while divided.

“We must go on strike with unity of purpose, the government must give us our salary increment and our allowances, to achieve this I believe industrial action is the only language the government understands,” he asserted.