Windhoek — The National Arts Extension Programme of the College of the Arts is accused of breaching legal salary contracts with part-time tutors working in the programme at various centres throughout the country.

"The issue on hand is the fact that the tutors have been contracted for 12 months of the year, yet they are only remunerated for 10 months. This is really a big problem for us as breadwinners of households," said the centre head at the Rehoboth School of Arts, Andrew van Wyk.

The Rehoboth School of Arts will receive music instruments worth N$30000 from the German government next Wednesday.

Caprivi theatre tutor, Olivier Iyambau, expressed support for Van Wyk's view on the contract breaching issue.

"To make things worse we as tutors have been paid a measly N$250 for December instead of full salaries, an insult for us as dedicated workers. In January we faced the same problem, this time around we were paid N$1000 apparently to carry us through the hard and harsh economic problems most people normally face during these holiday periods," said Iyambau.

Efforts to contact the head of the National Arts Extension Programme proved to be unsuccessful on the matter.

Programme head, Lucky Pieters, is apparently away on a six-week countrywide inspection mission to visit art centres.

Tutors used to work for years at an hourly rate until recently that system was consolidated into a more permanent pay system and previously part time secretaries have been appointed permanently.