Dozens of teachers has been arrested and others injured in Kenya as a nationwide strike called by unions entered its second day on Tuesday.

Over 40 teachers and union officials were on Monday arrested as the strike by teachers in public schools over pay demands paralyzed learning.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) declared the first day of a nationwide strike by some 230,000 teachers very successful.

On Tuesday, thousands of primary school pupils found their classes empty and so played or tried to give each other lessons.

Local media reported on Tuesday that the highest number of arrests was in Emuhaya in Western province, where 31 teachers were picked up by police for participating in demonstrations.

Eight teachers were arrested in Mombasa while two were picked up in Meru and one in Gatundu. Confrontation between protesting teachers and Knut officials, on one hand, and police on the other, took place in Mombasa, Kiambu, Gatundu, Meru, Kakamega, Isiolo and Vihiga districts.

KNUT rejected a government plan that would have seen the salary bill increased by over 17 billion shillings (about 220 million U.S. dollars) over three years.

KNUT chairman George Wesonga said lessons were canceled in most of the country's 18,063 public primary schools after 230,000 teachers refused to teach, saying the strike will continue until all the teachers' demands are met.

The teacher's union has insisted that teachers want a 35 percent increase to be paid at once from this month, saying the government has shown little commitment in improving the welfare of teachers in the country.

Education minister Prof. Sam Ongeri said preliminary reports showed that learning was taking place in secondary schools and there was no cause for alarm.

"Quite a number of primary schools are also teaching. Those teachers who have failed to report on duty will face disciplinary action," warned Ongeri.

He described the situation as "manageable" but warned that no school should be closed without the authority of the ministry.

He appealed to teachers to ignore the strike and go back to work. The minister said he has instructed all principals and heads of institutions to remain in school to ensure safety of students and property.

"The ministry is fully in control and I urge teachers to respect the rule of law and return to work immediately," said Ongeri.

However, Ongeri said the strike is illegal and warned that any teacher who would participate in the strike would be sacked, further indicating that any teacher caught inciting others to take part in the strike will be arrested.

The minister issued the stern warning after the union officials snubbed an 11th hour invitation by the government for talks in a bid to avert the crisis.

In some instances, police used tear gas to disperse teachers who had taken to the streets, waving placards as they protested. Tens of teachers are said to have been injured in the clashes.

The union, however, described the day as a major success but their employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) said the strike had only succeeded in primary schools but that learning had continued in secondary schools and tertiary institutions.

Teachers are demanding a 19.2 billion shillings salary increase paid in one installment, with the least paid teacher earning a basic salary of 13,750 shillings and the highest of 120,000 shillings.

But the government is offering 17.3 billion shillings distributed in three installments, with the lowest paid teacher getting 11,433 shillings in the first year, while the highest will be paid 71,338 shillings without allowances.

The situation in Nairobi remained calm as teachers stayed away from schools while those who reported to work stayed in the staff room.

Knut Secretary-General Lawrence Majali said the strike would continue until the government meets the teachers' demands for the pay raise to be implemented at once, not in three phases.

"Let the government not sit pretty and pretend that nothing is going on. So far, the strike has been 100 percent effective even though we are still open for dialogue," he said.

Majali said the union was ready to scrutinize new proposals from the government. Education statistics say there are more than 8.2 million primary school students nationwide.

Teachers went on a one-month strike in October 1998 after the government refused to honor its part of the bargain in the 1997 salary awards, saying there was no money.

Source: Xinhua