Teachers for Change has said some of its members have not yet received their Covid allowances despite the government claiming to have paid them.

The group debunked the ministry’s claim that it has paid the striking teachers their allowances last week. 

“Over 155 teachers are yet to be paid, and others are unaccounted for in some schools. There seems to have been some selective payments as some teachers are paid while others are not.

“Until this point, not even a single teacher is paid in some schools in regions 1 and 3 on that account. The Task Force Committee hereby reaffirms its unwavering stance on the sit-down strike until such a time that the insincerity stops and the needful is done,” the group said in a statement.

“Teachers for Change through writing had on several occasions, tried to engage The Gambia Teachers Union (GTU) on the confusing payment criteria and other pressing issues but since February 12th, our request seems to have fallen on deaf ears despite making persistent follow-ups.

“The GTU again, communicated that they had received monies from the government, and those teachers, including those without salary accounts with the GTU should go to any GTU branch to confirm payment.

“This to the teachers’ dismay was a far cry from the truth. We would not do justice to ourselves if we do not express our utter disappointment in the GTU for such cowardice and calling off their ‘attention-seeking’ strike when very many teachers were and are not paid.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba