The Education Minister says the government is working overdrive to acquire funds to address the biting shortage of teachers in the country.

''From Friday my officers have been involved with the Treasury in discussing this matter. They also met on Monday and my Permanent Secretary is today (Tuesday) engaging a debate with the Treasury, he said.

But Ongeri warned that employing over 70,000 teachers cannot be achieved overnight but rather progressively, ''No single country can be able to reduce the shortage at the current level of 75,000 within a single budget, it has to be on a phased out three-year or four-year period before we come to the ground zero level,” he posed.

In the country's national assembly, lawmakers pointed accusing fingers to the finance ministry for fuelling the strike. The members of parliament say treasury was to blame for diverting five billion shillings meant for recruitment of more teachers to the department of defense.

MPs have threatened drastic action to collapse Government withdrawal of money for its expenditure from the consolidated fund by shooting down the Appropriations Bill. ''If Treasury lays the Appropriations Bill before this house without the five billion shillings for teachers employment, we will reject it,'' said Martha Karua, Gichugu MP.

Talks between the Kenya National Union of Teachers and the Government came a cropper on Monday. Teachers are demanding employment of 28,000 more teachers to march up the student-teacher ratio.

''The situation we are facing now is tragic, children unto standard six can't read and write because there are not enough teachers,'' posed Eseli Simiyu, Kimilili lawmaker.

''We should force the Finance Ministry to cut down on unnecessary expenditure to create funds to employ more teachers,'' said another Kenyan MP.

Some parents in the Country have opted not to send their children to school assessing the situation. In some public boarding schools around the country, students were in classes but no teachers in sight only school principals and matrons to ensure order prevails.

Some of the candidates sitting this year’s national examination have resorted to go to public libraries while some parents are contemplating hiring private tutors depending on how long the teachers strike will take.

In the meantime, it is a learning shut down in public schools as the Government engages diplomatic measures with teachers to halt the strike.