Students at Groupe Scholaire de Kageyo in Gicumbi District, yesterday, did not take resignation of their teachers well, staging a protest. Seventeen teachers used to teach at Gihembe Refugee Camp school but it was later merged with Kageyo School with the teachers subsequently transferred. The teachers continued to teach at the new school, after they were reportedly promised pay raise. However, when their pay was not raised, the teachers recently resigned, arguing they could not continue working for “peanuts.” This did not go down well with the more than 500 students, who protested. The students pelted the school building with stones and broke some windows. They also turned their fury on anyone who tried to restrain them. Police in Gicumbi had to fire some shots in the air to disperse the rowdy students, according to witnesses.Police spokesperson ACP Celestin Twahirwa said they had to step in to halt the strike. “We are still investigating but there are teachers who recently resigned from their jobs, saying they were not being paid as their colleagues. The students were complaining about the teachers’ resignation,” said Twahirwa. Twahirwa said Police intervened in time before much destruction to school property. “No arrest so far, but some students, school administrators and teachers are being interrogated,” he said. Anastase Kamizikunze, the school’s head, said an impromptu meeting was called with officials from the Ministries of Education and Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, camp managers and ADRA to forge the way forward and that classes are expected to resume today. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
