The NEWS (Monrovia)
Moses M. Zangar, Jr.
5 March 2002
Monrovia — The reopening of the University of Liberia for academic 2001-2002 is once more getting cloudy as more than 300 faculty members are demanding an additional four months in salary arrears and two months of research allowances.
The University of Liberia Faculty Association(ULFA), through its President, J. Twaplay Fano Dohr, I., said the faculty at the nation's highest institution of learning will not resume normal academic activities until their demands are met.
Prof. Dohr explained how part of the arrears remitted to them by the University authorities was insufficient to get instructors and professors back into the classroom.
The assertion by the ULFA President followed the release of a calendar of events by the university for the resumption of classes. Recently, the Office of Admissions at the University announced the beginning of registration activities.
According to UL authorities, March 11 would mark the formal resumption of classes, saying that already admission and readmission of students, as well as orientation of freshman students are afoot.
However, the Faculty Association is uncomfortable with the schedule announced, on grounds of the University's delinquence in paying salary arrears and other allowances.
Consequently, Prof. Dohr told journalists how ULFA was seeking audience with the Board of Trustees and President Charles Taylor, who is Visitor to the UL, to discuss the welfare of faculty members before the reopening of school.
Already, he disclosed, ULFA had met with the UL Administration in a rather cordial atmosphere, except that the issue of their salary demand was not settled.
According to him, their demands should not be considered a "strike action" but rather should be looked at from the perspective of the well-being of faculty members and their families, especially during this time of harsh economic realities in the country.
"How can a man work from Monday to Friday weekly for about nine months and people expect him to be regular at work and perform to expectation? To think so is unrealistic, ungodly, illegal and is a serious academic crime," he exclaimed.
Recounting arrears owed them as six months for salary and five months for allowances, Prof Dohr, Chairman of the Department of Political Science, added that only if the faculty could be paid an additional four months for salaries and two months for allowances, they could return to class while negotiations for the rest of the arrears would be taking place.
He said faculty members have demonstrated love and interest in the country and the young people in particular, when they administered exams, submitted grades and participated in the last commencement convocation while they were not paid their salary arrears, adding we think our demands should be given consideration this time around.
This is one of the series of times that demands for salaries and allowances by the professors had
seriously impacted on the reopening of the University of Liberia.
Before the last commencement, the Faculty Association had demanded salary arrears and allowances for which they refused at one time to submit grades of students, thereby causing delay in the holding of the convocation.
The economic crisis at the nation's highest institution of learning, characterized by the demands of the faculty, prompted a national conference on the future of the institution, thereby resulting to a proposal recommending the increment of tuition, something which was criticized by the student community.
It is not known how the latest demands by more than 300 professors will again impact on the new schedule for the reopening of the University of Liberia.
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