A teacher whose name we got as Pierre Claver Onana has expressed his dissatisfaction with the response of secondary education minister, Nalova Lyonga following the stabbing of his colleague by a student.
In a letter penned to the minister, Pierre Onana questions the measures minister Nalova says have been taken to ensure teachers’ safety.
The stabbed teacher, Njomi Tchakounte Boris Kevin he said “has paid the price for his professional commitment and his love for training Cameroonian youth”.
Stating that the minister represents those that govern the educational sector as a whole, ” we are waiting for strong measures and financial means in terms of premiums” he writes.
“Yes, we take risks when you consider that a teacher should spend one, two, three years or more before receiving his first salary while others receive it while still in training” he adds.
The aggrieved teacher also cites some challenges he and his colleagues face including possible sanction for making the least mistake while invigilating examinations.
“You are a mother, put yourself in the place of this mother who lost her son … the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart” the letter explains further.
“We are tired of taking care of children abandoned by their parents and society” he concluded.
Following the stabbing to death of the Yaounde school teacher, minister Nalova had visited the institution. Talking to the press, she noted that the teachers are not always the victims in such cases, a declaration that received criticism from many instructors.
The teacher’s reaction comes at a time when there seems to be a siege of violence in the country’s academic milieu.
