(JollofNews) – Teachers at the Gambia College have threatened to go on strike on Monday if the governing council fails to meet their demands for better working conditions.
In a statement issued to the media at the college conference hall on Saturday, the chairman of College Academic Staff Association, Andrew AD Gomez, said they are demanding an increment of their teaching allowance from 30 per cent to 75 per cent and a confirmation of the service of all heads of departments of the schools of the college and representation of the its Academic Staff Association at the college’s Senior Management Team (SMT) and the Governing Council.
Of recent, the Gambia College has been the focus of attempted strikes from both students and academic staff. Earlier last year, the students threatened to go strike if living conditions in their student dormitories were not improved.
Mr Gomez said they presented their demands to the new government in April outlining their deplorable working conditions of service at the college.
However, he said the government has failed to respond to their request for a retention of graduate allowances, review salary structure to be at per with other sister tertiary institutions and filling of all vacant positions at the college,.
Mr Gomez added that they have now exhausted all diplomatic means to get these concerns addressed both at council and at the Higher Education Ministry levels.
He added: “Written communications started years ago and promises were made by the Ministry but everything proved to be empty. Timelines were also given but they expired and no explanations were given by the Ministry.”
Mr Gomez said frustrated with lack of any developments, the Academic Staff Association has agreed at a general meeting convened on 13th September 2017 that a sit-down strike would be observed as of 18th September 2017 until their demands including the payment of graduate and retention allowance are met.
Please consult the president office. President Adam Barrow is different from his predecessor. He will act immediately.Sometimes certain things could be done without depending on the central government. My advice to The Collage administration is that if the government settle this problem let the college try to create programs such as concerts at venues to bring in some money .Or students could also do some training jobs related to their field in business, projects ,Newspapers or even advertising all on behalf of the college. The training and services they offer could bring in some money for the school.If there are millionaire donors in The Gambia I would suggest that the college approach them too.
With this funds they can take care of the problems affecting them. With such funds they can help some of the students with financial problems.
In some countries high educational institution like The Gambia college should not have financial distress.The college can make money from the projects such as televise shows and the students training for feature media can play a huge role in increasing the college budget. For example the college could run a show on GRTS which they should have access to since its a government own TV station. All of these ideas could get the college out of its financial distress. “If the government has to do it all it be done but late for all”.
A strike ? Yeh that’s democratic. But beware, the culture of the strike is to make more strikes likely. Then we shall see if all that spending on lifestyle by this coalition was in fact only salt on there future wounds. What goes around surely comes around. Gambians are getting “street savvy”