Mumias East MP Ben Washiali has called for calm as the debate whether teachers should be recalled from North Eastern Counties due to insecurity rumbles on. This comes after three teachers were killed by suspected Al Shabaab militants in Wajir, on Friday after they attacked Qarsa Primary School. On Monday, Washiali said Kenyans should remain calm as the government improves security in the region, “I wouldn’t recommend that they leave the North Eastern region (teachers), if the government can provide the security,” he said, “As we saw, lately the government had dealt with the Al Shabaab issue admirably.”
He reiterated that the option for teachers to be withdrawn from the region shouldn’t be explored yet, until the moment the government fails to guarantee sufficient security for them, “There should be calm as the government deals with this,” he said. However, Washiali said the news of the tragedy caught everyone by surprise, saying last year Kenyans were confronted with a same sad incident and condemned the Friday attack, “We should remember that if our teachers are attacked and killed, the children won’t get education,” he said.
Earlier, on Sunday, KUPPET had called for the withdrawal of non-local teachers in the volatile areas in North Eastern, after the attack. “KUPPET now demands that TSC withdraws teachers from those affected regions,” said KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori during a press address. He said TSC has done the same in a school in Migori where teachers were told to stay at home and the school gates closed after teachers were attacked in the school, “If insecurity is the order of the day in a region then teachers shouldn’t be exposed,” he said.