SYNES UB suspends strike, calls for classes to resume today
By Elah Geoffrey Mbong with reports
The National Union of Teachers of Higher Education, SYNES, has called for the resumption of effective classes in the University of Buea on Monday, March 27, 2017, thereby suspending the strike action by lecturers that has been ongoing for some months now.
SYNES UB president, Prof. James Arrey Abangma and the vice president Dr. Martin Sango Ndeh made the revelation to newsmen in a press conference, Friday March 24 in Buea.
During the press conference, the union leaders lauded government’s efforts in trying to solve the problems that are currently plaguing the Anglophone sub-system of education but urged for the proper implementation of the resolutions arrived at by the ad hoc committee in charge of solving Anglophone teachers’ grievances.
Prof. James Arrey Abangma said the purpose of the press conference is to declare the suspension of the strike that started since 21st November 2016.
His words: “We are calling on all the students and lecturers to came on Monday for classes. Classes start on Monday in full swing. We are also making a number of requests to government for an enabling academic environment and one of these requests is the release of our lecturers and students,”
While calling off the strike, the union leaders declared that their move was to enable government to act on the resolutions arrived at. They however called for the demilitarisation of academic institutions, the reinstating of internet services in the two Anglophone regions which have been experiencing internet blackout since January 18, 2017.
The release of all students arrested during the current socio-political unrest and the readjustment of the academic calendar were also put on the table.
Abagma added that: “The decision we are taking is under exceptional circumstance. And these circumstances are due to the facts that the strike that was declared on the 21st of November 2016 soon became a popular strike. The objectives soon became submerged with the objectives of the society. The methods were hijacked by the community and the direction was controlled by the community. So we thought at some moment to give directives to the strike that we had declared.”
Asked if the current move is not a betrayal of the union’s Secretary General, Dr. Fontem Neba who was arrested and is currently detained in Yaounde, Prof. Abangma answered in the negative. He insisted that it is the duty of SYNES not to betray any of its members.
“Personally, in my own interest I could not have betrayed my own SG, Dr. Fontem Neba. My former students contacted me and they made promises to make contributions for me to travel out of the country but I refused. I refused because I thought I have worked with these people who were in detention. I could have still been in detention and would need their assistance the same way the need my assistance’. Abangma said