The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
16 October 2008
Learning was paralysed in many schools across the country yesterday as teachers reported for duty but did not teach.
The Government on Monday obtained a temporary court order restraining public school teachers from going on strike from yesterday.
A survey carried out in Dar es Salaam and other regions showed that teachers largely turned up for work, but stayed idle the whole day. However, the national Form Four examinations that began last week were not affected.
Reports from Mwanza, Tarime, Rorya and Kigoma districts indicated that many teachers did not report for duty, vowing not to resume duty until the Government gave in to their demands.
In other regions, including Ruvuma, Kagera, Shinyanga, Dodoma, Coast, Tanga, Morogoro and Singida, teachers stayed away from their workplaces, while those who reported for duty opted to laze around.
In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Teachers Union (TTU) officials, who were on Tuesday roughed up by teachers in a stormy meeting in Dar es Salaam, were consulting their lawyers about an appeal they were planning to lodge today against the order issued on Monday by the Labour Division of the High Court.
The TTU advocate, Mr Leonard Haule, told The Citizen that he would this morning file an appeal at the Court of Appeal. The injunction led to an angry reaction by teachers who attacked TTU officials on Tuesday, accusing them of colluding with the Government to derail their strike.
Reports that were confirmed yesterday by some TTU officials indicated that the Government was in a rush to finish the verification exercise and start paying teachers their salary and allowance arrears.
However, TTU president Gratian Mukoba told The Citizen that the exercise was being done haphazardly, and warned that this could worsen the situation.
Mr Mukoba said he harboured no ill feelings after teachers pelted him with stones and water bottles, forcing him to flee to a police vehicle on Tuesday. He added that TTU was in the process of having Monday's court order reversed.
"We are preparing to file an appeal so that teachers can embark on their strike that was perfectly legal until the Government interfered in the last minute," he said.
In Dar es Salaam, the Government summoned school head teachers through municipal executive officers and directed them to carry out roll calls and file reports to the Education and Vocational Training ministry.
In Songea, education officials and police visited most schools, and urged teachers to resume duty and wait for the outcome of the court case.
Teachers in Dar es Salaam expressed their disappointment over what they referred to as "betrayal" by their seniors. They accused the Government of attempting to "bully" them into submission, and said they would not have the morale to teach until their claims were settled.
"We know that head teachers yesterday held an urgent meeting aimed at intimidating us to ensure that we report for work.
Whatever they do, we will not teach," said a teacher at Makuburi Primary School. The situation was a bit different at Makumbusho, Victoria, Msisiri and Kinondoni primary schools where limited teaching took place.
Our reporters saw teachers huddled in groups, pondering their next move.
However, the head teacher of Umoja Primary School, Mr Abdi Dimbwa, said there was no interruption at the school. "We are working as usual in the hope that the Court of Appeal will rule in our favour," he said.
Teachers in Mwanza assembled at Gandhi Hall grounds where they chanted for the better part of the morning before dispersing in the afternoon.
The teachers agreed to go and sign attendance registers at their workplaces this morning and resume their unofficial strike tomorrow at the same place.
"We are not halting the strike. We will go straight home from here," said one of the rowdy teachers. Mwanza TTU chairman John Kafimbi earlier protested at the decision by the management of the Gandhi Hall to deny them the use of the venue for fear of angering the Government.
Mr Kafimbi directed his fellow teachers to vacate the grounds until tomorrow when they would converge to receive a report on developments in Dar es Salaam. The teachers are demanding payments of Sh16 billion in allowance arrears and want the Government to implement a host of other demands.
In Tarime, over 800 teachers met at Turwa Primary School where union official Matinde Magabe asked them to be ready to face the consequences of the strike. He said teachers from Tarime and Rorya districts had agreed that they would be reporting to their respective workplaces, signs attendance registers and leave.
He said teachers in Tarime and Rorya were claimed arrears of Sh236 million and Sh178 million, respectively, adding that 500 of their colleagues had not been promoted.
Reported by By Rosina John, Kagashe Beatus, Jackson Msangula, Kimani Kim, Irene Mchomvu, Mussa Juma and Paulina David.
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