Press Release

Education International concerned by possible intervention of the IMF in the teacher's strike in Kenya, 29 October 1998

Brussels, 29 October 1998: Education International addressed a letter today to International Monetary Fund Managing Director Michel Camdessus, after having discovered evidence that the IMF had informed the government of Kenya that it would not approve a new loan facility to enable the government to accede to the teachers demands for the implementation of the second phase of a salary agreement signed in July 1998 between the government of Kenya and the Kenya National Union of Teachers.

"If the information, also published in the Financial Times dated 13 Oct., is correct, it is a cause for great concern since it removes from governments the right to negotiate and implement agreements for public servants or, in this case, with the education sector at national level", stresses EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen in his letter to Michel Camdessus. "Education International urges you to take steps immediately to ensure that the teachers of Kenya are able to negotiate a settlement to this dispute with those who are taking the decisions about the economic and social policy of Kenya".

For many years, governments receiving loans have indicated that both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund imposed conditions on them that limited their ability to deal with social development as they wished. This has repeatedly been denied by the Bretton Woods institutions.

Today, the inability of the Government of Kenya to implement agreements it has signed has serious repercussions for social stability in the country. It is also a sign of a loss of sovereignty if the charges referred to are correct.

Teachers in Kenya currently receive an average basic salary of US$150 per month. The largest teachers' union, KNUT, a member of EI, has argued consistently that, for most teachers this is not enough to live on. Last July they successfully negotiated an agreement with the Kenyan government, which would result in a 200% increase over a five-year period. The recent strikes, which were supported by 70% of the population, were in response to the Kenyan government saying they could no longer fulfil that agreement and refusing to carry through the phase II increase. But news of the IMF and international donors' stance, suggests pressure was put on the government giving them little room for manoeuvre.

The need for teachers to find work in addition to teaching if they are to provide a survival level of income for their families is commonplace in many countries. Indeed for extended periods of time salary delays make it necessary for them to support their families from other sources and even impair their ability to send their children to school.

"The situation in Kenya will continue to deteriorate and there is grave concern for social stability. The unfair treatment of teachers who signed an agreement in good faith will further weaken an already underfunded system of education. The education system will increasingly depend on unqualified personnel since those who are qualified will seek employment elsewhere. This strategy has already produced devastation in education in many countries in Africa. We regret that the same short-sighted policies appear to continue at the instigation of the International Monetary Fund", underlined EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen in his message to the IMF Managing Director.

Education International represents 23 million teachers and education staff through its 284 member organisations worldwide.

Contact person:

Dominique Marlet,
EI Communication Coordinator, tel (32) 0477 50 6416
e-mail: dominique.marlet@ei-ie.org