PHOTO: Mrs. Mary Nyumah, NTAL President
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
The National Teachers Association of Liberia (NTAL) has called on the government to put an immediate halt on the process leading to the retirement of over 2,400 public school teachers in the country.
The association’s President, Mary Nyumah said government should have given one year notice to the teachers who will be affected by the retirement scheme.
She was speaking at a recent program marking the observance of the World Teachers Day organized by the National Teachers Association of Liberia.
Mrs. Nyumah noted that the situation is not healthy when teachers are retired abruptly and without prior notice because it has the propensity to create hardship for them.
The NTAL President also appealed to the government to begin paying teachers who have already been pensioned by giving them their golden handshake, in order to avoid unnecessary hardship on them and their families.
She however commended President George Weah for the allotment of one million United States Dollars to pay teachers of private schools who have not been paid as a result of the outbreak of corona virus.
Mrs. Nyemah admonished the government to pay attention to the welfare of teachers because they are making sacrifices by molding the minds of the youths who will eventually take over the responsibility of running the affairs in the future.
Cross section of Teachers Association members
Delivering the keynote speech, the Montserrado County Education Officer, Samuel Bondo, disclosed that the world statistics has shown that Liberia has one of the highest rates of out of school children in the world
He stressed the need for the government to re-think about education in the post covid-19 by attaching seriousness to the sector in the interest of the Liberian children.
Mr. Bondo stressed the need for the government to re-think about the Liberian education system after the corona crisis and give the children a brighter future.
The Montserrado County Education Officer also encouraged the government to all she can to bridge the gap between boys and girls in education.
UNESCO wants Gov’t condition of teachers
For his part, the Officer-In-Charge of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Stevenson Sedi called on the government to continue improving teachers’ working conditions and to involve them and their organization in the covid-19 educational response and recovery.
Mr. Sedi commended the teachers for their continued commitment to their students and for contributing to the achievements of the 2030 targets under sustainable development initiative goal four.
The UNESCO official in Liberia said it is time to recognize the role of teachers in helping to ensure a generation of students can reach their full potential and the importance of education for short-term stimulus, economic growth and social cohesion during and after the covid-19 period.
The celebration of the world teachers day was held under the theme: Teachers: Leading in Crisis, Re-imagining The Future.” And the program was graced by teachers from various parts of the country.