The Teachers’ Trade Unions in the North West and South West Regions have condemned atrocities recently committed in the North West and South West Regions while equally calling for effective school resumption in the in the two regions next month.
The Cameroon Teachers’ Trade Union, CATTU, Teachers’ Association of Cameroon, TAC, the Presbyterian Education Authority Teachers’ Trade Union, PEATTU, Catholic Education Writer Trade Union, CEWOTU and the Baptist Teachers’ Trade Union, BATTUC in a statement released at the weekend, all raised their voices against the atrocities in the North West and South West Regions.
Bamenda, has particularly been tensed this past week following the killing of a policeman; an act the Minister of Communication says was committed by two men who were carrying firearms. This has since prompted security and defence forces to launch a manhunt to track down the perpetrators of the crimes.
The incident piles up t a list of atrocities committed recently in the two regions, notably the killing of Comfort Timassan in Muyuka as well as the killing of a teacher in Bamenda for supervising the GCE.
Teachers and students have largely been targets of armed separatists in the North West Region and with the new school year fast approaching, the teachers’ unions have come out to condemn these acts which they describe as barbaric and call for the separatists to respect the education community.
“Such inhumanity of man to fellow man, meted especially by brother on brother, should stop forthwith because such wanton assaults, destruction and killings only breed rancour and deep-seated hatred thus perpetuating the mayhem,” the teachers’ said in a statement.
“ We send out a resonant prayer that all compatriots promoting the ongoing insurgency from bases at home or abroad should, each in their individual consistency, resolve to stop playing “ringods” toying with and wrecking lives like is the case now because the consequences for future community interaction are alarmingly apocalyptic;” they added.
The teachers thumbed up to government for initiating dialogue and expressed the wish to see this continue by exploring “ways of reaching out to the parties in the ongoing conflict and of addressing the grievances that provoked the crisis in the first place.”
Concerning the new school year, they called on all those hindering students and teachers from going to school to desist from these acts and stressed school boycotts can never be the ultimate solution.
“(We call on ) all those standing in the way to give peace a chance and allow deprived, nay, sacrificed children return to school, and their teachers to resume their functions in an atmosphere of peace and security, given that education is the springboard for any form of development and because school boycott as a grievance-expressing measure cannot go on ad infinitum,” they said.
