Dozens of teachers staged a demonstration yesterday in front of the Ministry of Education to protest a decision by the ministry which requires teachers to sign temporary two-year contracts, assigning them the title of ‘teacher’s assistant’ due to a shortage of funds within the department.
The teachers claimed the decision was authorized by five government agencies, including the Ministries of Education and Finance, as well as the Governorate of Cairo, the Central Agency for Organization and Management and the Council of Ministers.
The protesters said they were surprised when the department notified them at the beginning of March that their salaries would be withheld in April if they did not agree to sign the temporary contracts.
Madhat Musad, director of the Cairo Department of Education, explained that the decision to put teachers within a one-class system of temporary contracts was actually in the teachers’ interests as it provides them with the opportunity to obtain greater salaries in the future by attaining the full rank of teacher. This decision, which was issued in accordance with Regulation 47 pertaining to government teachers, will not prevent them from reaching the rank of teacher in the future, he said.
In related news, employees from the Nubariya Company for Agricultural Mechanization, employees from agricultural improvement centers and physically challenged individuals continued their protests amidst what they called a lack of intention by the government to solve their problems. They pointed to the infrequency of parliamentary sessions to discuss their problems as proof of the government’s lack of interest in these matters. They added that their money had run out and that they could not return home without obtaining what is rightfully theirs.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
