Lecturers of the University of Buea, UB, like their colleagues in other State universities, have called off their strike action after their demands were met by the Ministry of Higher Education.
The lecturers had resorted to the strike action that lasted a week and half, over the nonpayment of the third-quarter of the 2014 research modernisation allowances.
According to Dr. Neba Fontem, the National Administrative Secretary of the National Union of Teachers of Higher Education, known by its French acronym as SYNES; “We realised, at some point that the problem was coming from the Ministry of Finance, so, it was necessary for someone to give definite instructions and we think that the Head of State’s voice made the difference,” Fontem said.
“Previously, some lecturers received their allowances 45 days after others had received theirs. We don’t think that it was a nice thing. This time around, we insisted for everybody to be paid in full before we start classes. We hope that in the near future, this thing of fractional payments would stop,” he added.
Only lecturers directly involved with the strike action were privileged to receive the allowance, meanwhile, part-time lecturers were left out. The reason is that, since they desire to gain full employment, they have to attain a certain level of standards like being disciplined; hence their involvement in the strike action would have been disastrous.
“It doesn’t look decent for them to come and meet people having problems and they pretend as if nothing is going on. Nevertheless, some Rectors or Vice Chancellors held meetings with the Teachers’ Union to explain a number of things to them and that calmed them down,” Fontem stated.
The Post equally learnt that the Vice Chancellor of UB, Dr Nalova Lyonga, had not also been paid on time. According to Dr Fontem, “She could not be giving orders for lecturers to teach when she had not received her pay on time. Somehow, she could have been happy for the strike so that her money would be paid.”
During a General Assembly meeting of SYNES that held on December 4, the lecturers discussed strategies to be implemented in order to catch up with the time lost due to the strike.
“We have agreed to take the period of the convocation and beyond to see how much we can cover for what we lost during the strike, we would organise drills, exercises, interactive activities as well as tutorials to enable the students pick up from where we ended. Meanwhile, while lecturers were very enthusiastic to resume classes, students were nowhere to be found.
Dr Fontem, on behalf of all the other lecturers, called on all students to come for lectures. He said they still had a lot to do before the Christmas vacation.
The research allowance goes a long way to support the work of some lecturers.
“I have a research project that is awaiting review, so, I can continue from where I stopped and am grateful to the Head of States, just as my colleagues are,” Fontem stated.
