COCMU teachers strike over salary arrears, district threatens to close the school

EASTERN PROVINCE NYAGATARE—Its all bad news for students of College Christen de Muvumba in Rukomo where all teachers have continued a strike over salary wages and have not reported to class in the last two weeks. The strike began after school administrators and proprietors failed to pay teacher?s salary arrears for the previous two months. Instead of teaching in classrooms, teachers have not at all even been making their way to the school. A delegation from the district has since intervened and taken over the school administration, vowing to pay the salary arrears. The delegation includes the vice-mayor for economic and development affairs, Major Kabalisa, and president of the district council and director for education in Nyagatare district. Dozens of students speaking to the media have said they have spent “the whole term” without accessing studies due to poor planning and lack of payment to teachers. “We had planned to put up a peaceful demonstration from the school campus to Nyagatare district headquarters and all students were requested not to reveal the information but as of now we don’t know the one who tipped the sector authorities, but at least the district and sector officials have intervened and we hope the situation is coming to normal,” one student said. The vice mayor for economic and development affairs Anselme Majoro Rurangwa, leading the delegation, said that the school did not qualify to operate according to Ministry of Education standards, and threatened to close the school for the 2008 academic year. Rurangwa revealed that the delegation had come with the intention of closing down the school but for the sake of students decided to take over the school administration instead. Students will be sitting for the ‘O’ level exams in weeks. The school proprietor, theCommunity des Eglises Christien en Afrique (CECA), based in Kigali, has been accused of withdrawing all money on the school bank accounts, leaving no single penny and causing the enormous financial crisis today. It has also been observed, say some, that the pastors based in Kigali control everything at the school campus in Rukomo.The proprietors are the ones with the power to deposit and withdraw funds from the school’s account at ECOBANK and Bank Populaire. Only Frw35,000 in total was found in the two bank accounts. Students have also accused CECA representative pastor Falicien Kanzeguhera of ‘mingling’ in school business, and of taking money. School director of COCMU College John Munyandinda said that the government, though, had failed to pay Frw31 million for COCMU students. “The ministry disappointed us after failing to pay us money which disabled us to meet school expenses,” said Munyandinda. “If the ministry can clear that amount we expect to change the face of this school.” YET CECA director Aime Cesar Bahati categorically denied that the church had taken money out of school bank accounts. “It’s the church which always injects money in this school. We never withdraw money from bank accounts,” Bahati said. The delegation has promised students that the district will run the college and meet finance requirements. “The school infrastructure is still lacking, the hygiene and again the teachers are not qualified, and I heard that the school opened the department of accountancy with no ministry approval. If this continues it is like poisoning our children and this must stop,” Rurangwa assured. Ends