In several regions, administrative authorities are trying to end the strike launched by teachers –since the start of the academic year last September 4 –  to get their rights enforced, we gathered from several documents and administrative correspondences. 

Governors, divisional officers, and senior divisional officers are pressuring teachers, even with intimidation, to get them to stop the strike. In the West for instance, on September 11, the governor of the region, Awa Fonka Augustine, signed a letter addressed to the senior divisional officers of the Menoua and Ndé divisions asking them to “take urgent steps to put an end” to the strike. 

Awa Fonka Augustine fears that failure to bring strikes under control in certain schools in these divisions could lead to a contagion effect that could affect the whole academic year. 

In the Nyong-et-Mfoumou division, the special commissioner of Ayos ruthlessly summoned certain teachers from the town's government bilingual high school reminding them that they were not attending classes as they were supposed to. The senior divisional officer of the division distanced himself from that summoning, asking teachers not to respond to it on the ground that there is no point “disrupting the harmony shown by the local education community.” 

Less conciliatory, the divisional officer of the Evodoula district (Centre region), in a press release dated September 12, summoned all striking teachers to return to work, failing which they will be declared as being absent without leave. 

In the Adamaoua region, Governor Kildadi Taguieke Boukar issued a request for an explanation to the "unethical staff" of certain schools. The regional delegate and departmental delegates were tasked to pass those requests to the striking teachers.  

The strike is led by On a Trop Supporté (OTS), a collective of public school teachers. They demand the payment of salary and bonus arrears among other things.  The movement was launched in February 2023, leading to the creation of a government platform responsible for paying teachers' dues, estimated at over XAF180 billion.  According to the collective, the government has failed to fulfill its commitments, which is why the new strike is ongoing. 

L.A.