Public School Teachers in Monrovia Give Government Seven Days Ultimatum to Address their Plights or Risk ‘Strike’ Action
Monrovia – The Monrovia Consolidated School System Teacher Association has given a one-week ultimatum to the Liberia government to address their plights or risk protest action across the country.
Addressing journalists in Monrovia, the president of the Monrovia Consolidated School System Teachers Association president Augustine N. Nyormui said his group is frustrated over the way the Weah-led government is downplaying the plights of public school teachers, government pensioners including every civil servant in the country.
“We are publically calling on President Weah’s administration through the 54th Legislature including relevant state actors to unconditionally address our plights within a period of seven working days or face a non-violence action across the country,” Nyormui said.
On April 18, 2021, after several a dialogue meeting, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the government of Liberia and the Consortium of public sector workers.
Despite the signing of a MOU, the president of the Monrovia Consolidated School System Teachers Association Augustine N. Nyormui said for the past six months, all plans in making government adhere to the memorandum of understanding have resulted into a stalemate.
“As enshrined in the memorandum of understanding with the government of Liberia, it’s saddened to note that Minister Tweah of the MFPD has failed to provide the sum of US$50,000 to authorities of the Monrovia Consolidated School System in order to reduce the high cost of P.T.A registration fees without school system as the current fees,” Nyormui said.
He added that the high cost in the school fees pose a serious challenge to the parents including students thereby resulting to low enrollment from 26,000 previously to 15,000 students currently.
Nyormui added: “We are constrained and being pushed to the wall as a result of frustration to publicly announce that this regime headed by George Weah, President of Liberia, doesn’t care about handling the plight of Public School teachers, government pensioners including all civil servants across the country due to its failures to address cardinal burning issues.”
According the group, since the inception of the Weah’s administration, it has introduced what the group terms as a draconian pension policy thereby carrying on abrupt pensioning of teachers, health workers and other civil servants without providing a “handshake” for many pensioners.