Teachers End Strike; Raises Are Promised

Kenyan teachers ended a 12-day strike, allowing 7 million students to return to class after the government agreed to increase the teachers’ salaries. The stalemate ended after President Daniel Arap Moi set a 48-hour deadline Friday for negotiators to end the nation’s first teachers strike in 28 years. The government agreed late Sunday to pay the 150% to 200% raise recommended by a government-appointed committee. The Education Ministry had initially offered 10% to 28%. Moi had previously called the teachers’ demands “ridiculous.” The National Union of Teachers had wanted the raise to be implemented over three years, but it settled for a government offer of five years beginning last July 1. Teachers’ salaries now average between $48 and $113 a month. More than 287,000 teachers walked off the job Oct. 1.