The government has suspended the salaries of more than 200 secondary school teachers in the North West Region due to irregular absences.
The announcement was made by the North West Regional Delegate of Secondary Education during a broadcast on state Radio CRTV over the weekend.
According to the Regional Delegate, teachers who have deliberately abandoned their duties without valid reasons will not have their salaries reinstated.
However, those who can provide legitimate documentation explaining their absences will have their salaries reinstated, with immediate effect for recent suspensions.
The decision comes amidst ongoing security challenges facing teachers and students in the North West Region.
Persisting armed conflict and attacks against education have forced many teachers to abandon their duty posts.
Some of them who have attempted in the past to promote education have been killed, injured, or kidnapped and levied huge ransom amounts.
Reports indicate that classrooms remain empty in these areas, with some schools either burnt down or converted into hideouts by non-state armed groups.
Last year, at least five teachers were killed by separatist fighters, among them Yufenyuy Austin, the Vice-Principal of GBHS Kumbo.
A doctorate student, Anyam Pius, was also killed in May last year by separatist fighters who have been enforcing school boycotts in the English-speaking Regions since 2016, when the ongoing crisis broke out.
The plight of teachers in conflict zones has been exacerbated by the relentless violence and threats they face on a daily basis.
Last month, disturbing images circulated on social media depicting secondary teachers in GBHS Esu, Wum Menchum Division, subjected to brutal violence by Ambazonia Fighters.
The school was attacked and some teachers kidnapped. They reportedly paid millions of francs in ransom for their freedom.
Amid these challenges, the government also argues that many teachers who are on the state payroll have taken advantage of the conflict to abandon their duty posts, despite significant peace reigning in those areas.
Some teachers are reported to have fled abroad for what they perceive as “greener pastures,” but continue to receive state salaries through dubious means.
Last year the Minister of Secondary Education, through a public release, asked people to report teachers who have been absent from their duty posts through an anonymous digital channel.
The measure led to the suspension of 2,326 secondary school teachers who were accused of deserting their duties.
