Benjamin Ngah
Celebrations marking the 21st
edition of the World Teachers’ Day in the North West Region were characterized
by despair, fury and threats by teachers to rock the boat if dues own them by
the GCE Board after the marking exercise for 2014 marking session are not paid
with promptitude.
In a strongly worded speech, the
president of Teachers’ Association of Cameroon (TAC), Ninjo Paul echoed a
forewarning note to the regime in place to make sure dues owed teachers who
marked the GCE 2014 session are paid without any further delay. According to
him, the nonpayment of GCE markers was “a clear case of discrimination, and an
unwarranted abuse of Anglophone teachers because of whom they are.”
He further warned that the
none-respect of this alert and the “non-payment of teachers’ GCE marking
allowances is the ultimate provocation – a gun-powder keg that some other
nondescript tin-god has chosen to toy with around the fire-place.
He questioned why markers of “office du
Bac” (Baccalaureate Examination Board) were promptly paid and done with while
those of the GCE Board are still languishing after spending several days out of
their comfort zones marking the GCE. Here him,” We are reliably informed that
the Minister of Financc chose to honour MINESEC subvention to the Office de Bac but refused to do same for
that to the Cameroon GCE Board.”
Other teachers’ trade unions also blamed
the powers that be for slowly and surely destroying the Anglo-Saxon system of
education by bringing cosmetic changes and refusing to honor its engagement
toward the GCE Board in order to frustrate Anglophone teachers.
One sticky point that resonated
throughout some of the speeches was the GCE Baord saga. They called on the
authorities at the GCE Board to clear the air on accusations levied on them
which have greatly tarnished the image of the Board and for “supervisory
authorities in the educational realm as well as on NGOs like Exam Ethics
Marshals International (EEMI) to probe and either vitiate or establish the
veracity of allegations concerning the trading of certificates at the Cameroon
GCE Board. To us they remain allegations because a thorough probe must be
carried out before anything concrete can be concluded. The authorities who run
the GCE Board are, from known indicators, persons of tested integrity so we
imagine that there might just be some error somewhere. Since the rumours hang,
with a foul redolence, steps must be taken to lay them to rest before
confidence can return in full armour.”
To all these, the governor of the region reiterated
government’s determination to see that teachers are better treated and that
progressively the government is actually investing in teachers for a better
future. He further congratulated the teachers and praised them for their sense
of understanding.
Despite the obvious mountain of obstacles faced by
teachers, many of them, this reporter spoke to, promised to do their job with
abnegation, courage and determination until the regime finally fails them;
reason why some of them went wild feasting and drinking from one bar to the
other.
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