South Darfur security briefly detains head of Gireida Teachers Union

Security officers briefly detained the chairman of the Teachers Union branch of Gireida, South Darfur, today, against the backdrop of the strike organised by the teachers in the locality, in protest against the reduction of their salaries. The teachers of neighbouring Tullus locality are threatening to embark on a strike too.

A teacher told Radio Dabanga that security agents entered the house of Adam El Zein, head of the Gireida Teachers Union, at 10 o’ clock this (Wednesday) morning. “They took him in their car to the offices of the security apparatus in Gireida town, and released him again three hours later.”

The teachers of the locality went on strike on Tuesday, in protest against a five-percent deduction of their salaries since April. They also demand the payment of the five-percent reduction on their salaries of last year.

This deduction, for the period of five months, was based on an agreement between the commissioner of Gireida locality and the union, as the locality was “in need of financial support”. The commissioner promised to reimburse the deducted amounts, but the teachers have been waiting for the payment in vain. When they received their April salaries this year, they found that again five percent had been reduced, and embarked on a strike.

“After El Zein was held,” the teacher reported, “a number of teachers and parents staged a demonstration in front of the Gireida locality offices, in protest against his detention, and the way the teachers are being treated.

“They chanted slogans against Commissioner Mohamed Abdelrahman, accusing him of being behind the detention, and demanded the immediate payment of the teachers’ entitlements.”

Tullus

The Teachers Union branch of Tullus locality has given the South Darfur authorities a deadline until Thursday, to pay the salary arrears of the basic school teachers.  

A member of the union reported to Radio Dabanga that the teachers’ salaries in the locality were reduced with five percent eleven months ago.

Curricula

The director-general of the South Darfur Ministry of Education, Omar Mohamed Bashir, has announced that the schools this year will work with two different curricula. The first curriculum will be used in Nyala, the state capital, and Nyala locality, and the second one in the other localities, as, he argued, teaching in the surrounding localities is hampered by the rainy season.

Bashir told reporters in Nyala on Tuesday that the teachers are currently being trained in the new curricula. He said that he expects the success rates at both the basic and secondary schools to be higher than in the previous years.