The University of Buea-UB Lecturers under the banner of SYNES has called for a strike action over unpaid research allowances and teachers’ bonuses. They announced that they will start an indefinite strike action if the second quarter of the Research Modernization Allowance decreed by the Head of State is not paid to all teachers by 15 July 2016.

However, in a communique on July, 8th addressed to the student body, the Vice-Chancellor chided the lecturers and called on the students to know their rights. The Vice-Chancellor Dr. Nalova Lyonga said that the Government of Cameroon has never failed to pay the lecturers though maybe there might be delays. The VC insinuated that the University of Buea is not an exception. She then went further to assure the students having their exams is their right and that exams will continue as planned till 18th July 2016.

Reading through the Vice-Chancellor note, one could get the feelings that the lecturers are using the students as baits. The Vice-Chancellor seems to show the lecturers as greedy individuals who are only looking for themselves forgetting the welfare of the students considering the fact that it is a national issue of payments delays and not restricted only to Buea. It begs us to question whether other lecturers in other Universities are planning to strike or this is peculiar only to the University of Buea.

One should note that this has been a recurrent issue since from the days of Prof Titanji, former VC. The lecturers always strengthened to protest before their allowances are paid. One cannot tell if the fault is coming from the UB or the government. Be it as it may be, there has to be an efficient system which takes care of lecturers need already designed in the University budget heads. BaretaNews hopes that the threats from the lecturers to go on strike by 15th July would be avoided so that students could finish their exams smoothly thereby heading home for vacation holidays.

God is still saying something.