The teachers’ strike in Tanzania drew a storm of protests on Tuesday, with pupils in Dar es Salaam taking to the streets to demand their right to be taught.

Police had to step in and disperse the children, who marched to government offices and asked the authorities to find an immediate solution to the crisis on a day that also saw four teachers in Mbeya charged with inciting their colleagues to stage a boycott.

Police used tear gas to disperse the angry pupils gathered at the regional commissioner’s office, demanding that the stand-off between their teachers and the government be resolved immediately.

Pupils from Kawawa Primary School in Dar es Salaam marched to Regional Commissioner Said Meck Sadick’s office, only to find that he was unavailable. Undeterred, they asked the officers present to solve the teachers’ problems so that they could return to class.

The officers promised the hundreds of children, who arrived at the offices at around 12pm, that they would order their teachers to return to work or face disciplinary action.

Pupils from eight primary schools in Tegeta tried to get to the Kinondoni district commissioner’s office but police dispersed them at Kunduchi. Pupils from Tabata Primary School in Dar es Salaam also attempted to march from their school to the local regional commissioner’s office but were intercepted at Buguruni.

The angry pupils said they took to the streets because “that would force the authorities to hear our voices”.

Only few teachers reported for work yesterday. At Kisutu primary school, Headteacher Asha Juma said all teachers reported for work and she made sure that they all attended to “what made them leave their houses”.

Back in Mbeya, the police charged the teachers they had arrested with inciting their colleagues to stage the strike.

They included two Tanzania Teachers Union district secretaries in Kyela and Rungwe.

The Regional Police Commander, Mr Athumani Diwani, said the teachers had gone round local primary and secondary schools urging their colleagues who had reported for work to join the boycott.

He added: “We were tipped off by our informers and we made a follow up... we have managed to arrest these four teachers. We have information that they also threatened those who refused to take part in the strike.”

Commander Diwani named the accused as Petro Mangula (52), the TTU secretary in Kyela District, Emmanuel Kyejo, 45, from Mbebe primary school in Ileje District, Anyangigwe Lwingwa, 54 and from Mkumbukwa primary school, and Akso Kibona, 52, a TTU secretary in Rungwe District.

The Morogoro Regional Police Commander, Mr Faustine Shilogile, warned the striking teachers that he and his team were well prepared to deal with chaos. He told the teachers not to incite and use schoolchildren to cause mayhem as they would also be dealt with “accordingly”.

In Mwanza Region, the government announced tough measures against any TTU leaders found to have instigated the strike. As the strike entered its second day, most teachers opted to stay away.

Mwanza Regional Commissioner Evarist Ndikilo said the teachers should not heap blame on the government for the pay crisis but look to their union which, he said, had failed to effectively fight for their rights.

At most schools The Citizen visited yesterday, only children appeared to be present. At Mugumu A Primary School in Serengeti District, The Citizen reporter found that prefects were running the show in some classes.

The TTU chairman in Serengeti, Mr Baruti Moranya, said over 80 per cent of teachers responded positively to the strike.

In another development, the Labour Division of the High Court will tomorrow rule on whether or not the strike is legal after the government sought a court injunction. Lawyers representing the government and the TTU finished their submissions on Tuesday.

Judge Sophia Wambura will read the verdict at 2pm in a case in which the government has asked the court to declare the strike illegal.

The parties to the application include the Chief Secretary, the Permanent Secretary in the President’s office in charge of Public Service Management, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and the Attorney General.

Reported by Bernard Lugongo and Alex Bitekeye in Dar; Hawa Mathias in Mbeya, Hamida Shariff in Morogoro, Sheilla Sezzy in Mwanza and Anthony Mayunga in Musoma