By Abongwa Fozo
Semma Valentine, a teacher trade unionist has blamed policy makers for not listening to the voices of teachers on issues that concern them. He made the comments as teachers in the region joined others world wide to observe the World Teachers’ Day under the theme “Valuing Teacher Voices: Towards a New Social Contract for Education”.
Speaking on the Magazine Program “Frontline” over City FM Radio this Saturday October 5, 2024, the National Executive Secretary General of the Cameroon Teachers’ Trade Union (CATTU) said teacher “voices are not valued by the government or the general public.” He said teachers have not been given the place they deserve in society.
He added that teachers are not consulted when policies that impact education and even their lives are enacted.
“Our greatest challenge in the Northwest and Southwest Regions remains security issues”, he added when asked about their challenges. Mr. Semma said that the personal security of the teachers, the pupils and students, the school administrators and the school environment is lacking in the context of the Northwest Region. He said the teachers need to “walk through the eye of a needle to teach the few students who’ve decided to come to school”.
He also blamed local administrators for persistent threats to their lives. Teachers don’t feel secure at home and in the school but administrative officials who are supposed to protect them are instead using their pens to penalize them, he lamented.
He cited the SDO for Ngoketuja who has suspended the salary of over a thousand teachers for failing to teach in what he vividly described as empty campuses, insecure environment, vandalized schools. The case of the DO for Nkambe is also vexing.
He declared that teachers are preparing for the necessary actions to protect themselves against overzealous administrators and those who mistreat teachers in the lay private and confessional sectors.
He decried the situation of teachers in lay private and confessional sectors where teachers are poorly paid and some treated as beggars. He said some of these institutions collect huge sums of money in tuition fees but still don’t consider the teachers.
He went on to cite several proposals that have been put forward to better the conditions of teachers but have never materialized because nobody cares to listen to them.
He called for teachers to be left alone. “Go to Up-station on ghost town days. Only the delegations of education are open while others are closed”, explaining that workers from different ministries have abandoned their jobs for greener pastures but the focus is only on teachers. He however condemned teachers who have abandoned their jobs or moved out for better opportunities.
He went on to add that teachers face many challenges like overcrowded classrooms in some cases, lack of didactic materials, poor internet connection, erratic power supply, lack of refresher courses, no special status promised teachers and more as factors hampering their work.
He also castigated those forcing teachers to observe the Teachers’ Day indoors. He ended by calling on teachers to be hopeful for better days lie ahead.
