It was during the working session held on March 15 between the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Grégoire Owona and the representatives of the teachers’ unions, the representatives of the “OTS” collective and those of the “indignant” teachers. It was a question for the member of the government, through the said meeting, to seek in a concerted manner, with regard to various dysfunctions, appropriate solutions to their concerns.

In his introductory remarks, Minister Grégoire Owona immediately recognised that the world of teachers has been hard hit for years. However, he wished to recall that the grievances which have been presented have been examined by the government and well studied with the teachers. He then insisted on the fact that a schedule was suggested by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, after study and approval of the teachers, to the Head of State.

Which gave its agreement on almost all the grievances and set an urgent schedule for implementation. Call for the resumption of classes On the strength of this positive development, the Minister invited teachers to return to class, because, he underlines, “decisions are being implemented”. For Grégoire Owona, in fact, it is time to make legality prevail in order to avoid the risk of slippage or recovery, the legal framework being put in place. The erroneous understanding of the use of the right to strike, he added, would in turn risk leading to a harmful impasse for the national community.

At the end of this consultation, the participants were almost unanimous on the fact that the resolutions taken by the Head of State were likely to meet the expectations of teachers.

“This meeting brought together all the actors of the crisis. The proposals put on the table by the government have been accepted as a working basis for a lasting solution to the problem. In this regard, the deadline of the end of March will be a decisive deadline. If she is honoured, it will be a strong signal for de-escalation in the field of the conflict”, welcomes Roger Kaffo Fokou, Secretary General of the National Autonomous Union of Secondary Education.

“We have decided by consensus to temporarily lift the strike order so that from the 14th to the 27th of the current month, we can observe and assess the effective implementation of the instructions of the President of the Republic” , informed, in turn, Jean Magloire Bikek, member of the OTS movement.

The “Outraged Teachers”, too, chose to take the government at its word and wait until the end of March. This is what the president of the collective, Jacques Bessala Ngono, affirms: “the government will be judged on the basis of the commitments it has made. This is why we are calling on our colleagues to resume classes. We are two weeks away from the end of the month. Let’s show them our goodwill and see if they’ll fail.”

An eventuality not foreseeable by the Minister of Labour and Social Security, who wanted to reassure everyone that everything that has been decided will be carried out, and that the dialogue will continue with all the stakeholders, in a spirit of openness and responsibility with a view to solving problems and improving the situation of teachers in the long term.