Teachers within the Makeni Municipality and its environs are currently on a peaceful sit down strike in solidarity with a call from a splinter group of teachers called Voice of Teachers.
Teachers across most of the schools interviewed in Makeni have decided to report to their respective schools, signing their daily attendance books but refusing to enter the classrooms to deliver their daily lessons.
A very senior teacher in one of the Class A Schools within the township of Makeni has noted that they are observing the sit down strike in order to get government’s attention in relation to several demands the Voice of Teachers presented to government some couple of months ago.
The Chairman, Voice of Teachers North, Mr. Alhassan Mansaray, gave a brief background on how they have engaged government to address the numerous problems facing teachers in the classroom.
He noted that Government has failed to meet their demands and this is why they have called on their membership to down tools and this call, he noted, has been generally adhered to within the municipality.
He noted that the stakeholders within the township have made efforts to get them to prevail on their membership to get back to work. His organisation, he noted, is prepared to talk with them to avoid the impasse.
The Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) has been accused of largely failing to exert the necessary pressure to get government to fast track the current negotiations for improved terms and conditions.
President Bio’s government has been accused of delaying the commencement of the negotiations leading to the establishment of new and improved conditions of service for teachers. The Ministry of Education has reneged in forwarding its representatives to the Trade Group Negotiating Council.
Nightwatch correspondents in Bo, Kenema and other parts of the country have however reported that schooling is normal in these parts of the country even though Voice of Teachers have representation in these areas.
The issue of the sit down strike in Makeni has generated huge concerns among parents, civil society players and other members of the general public.
As Teachers Down Tools In Makeni… Free And Quality Education Face Setback
