Chadian teachers demand pay and better school resources
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Alwihda Info
Illustrative image · Tosin Olowoleni · Pexels · Licence PexelsIn Chad, teachers describe overcrowded classrooms, a lack of textbooks and deteriorating rooms, while some salaries and allowances remain insufficient. Abdoulaye Mahamat Saleh and Assan Hadji Kalssou are notably calling for higher pay and reimbursement of withheld amounts, Alwihda Info reports.
Chadian teachers are calling for the reimbursement of half a month’s salary withheld from some employees, higher pay and payment of allowances related to housing, chalk and teaching materials, Alwihda Info reports. They are also demanding better material conditions, as some schools lack textbooks and teaching equipment and some lessons take place under shelters or in dilapidated classrooms.
In schools in N’Djamena and the provinces, teachers have to manage classes of between 70 and 100 pupils. Assan Hadji Kalssou, an English teacher at the Am-Riguebé Bilingual Girls’ High School, believes that these numbers make individual monitoring of pupils impossible, according to Alwihda Info.
The Chadian Teachers’ Union is calling for the resumption of social dialogue, implementation of Decree No. 2850 on the special status of teaching staff and the regular payment of subsidies for community teachers. The unions are also demanding the processing of tenure applications, promotions and reclassifications, as well as payment of the corresponding salary arrears.
These demands extend discussions on teachers’ working conditions in Chad, following debates held in Sahr, in Moyen-Chari, on 2 October. They also follow reports of a shortage of teachers in several schools in Kotongoro, published the same day in a review of school staffing levels.
