Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
Missing my July salary is beyond all imagination
Missing my July salary is beyond all imagination
ILLUSTRATION | J NYAGAH NATION MEDIA GROUP
Posted Sunday, August 4 2013 at 01:00
ILLUSTRATION | J NYAGAH NATION MEDIA GROUP
Posted Sunday, August 4 2013 at 01:00
Although we resumed work two weeks ago, I would be lying to say that I have fully resumed duty.
And it is not intentional. As everyone knows, as a hardworking and patriotic teacher, I was quite disturbed by the strike, and spent long, sleepless nights sympathising with the poor students who were missing out on education.
In fact, as many of you know, I am one of the few teachers who regularly went to school during the strike. I, however, always remained in the nursery section with Fiolina, as I feared that I may be roughed up by my striking colleagues if I went to the main school. That is why I welcomed with both hands news of the strike ending.
As you know, just before the strike, I had come up with a timetable that I knew, if implemented, would revolutionise pedagogy in our school. Many teachers had thought that with the strike, the timetable would be forgotten.
Shock on them, I pinned the timetable on the noticeboard on the day teaching resumed. You will remember that the timetable was meant to kill certain bad habits among teachers. Teachers who reported to work late were given morning classes, while those who liked leaving early were allocated late classes.
I excepted teachers to put up a fight. First to complain was Madam Anita; who had morning classes. She was breathing fire when she called me. "Dre, can't you remember I have a letter from the doctor directing that I be given mid-morning classes?" she asked.
I reminded her that the letter had been submitted early last year when she came from maternity leave, and that it was valid for only three months. "Your daughter is now almost two years so stop using that excuse," I said.
"What? What do you know about children?" she asked. "If Fiolina has not given you a baby, don't blame me for not knowing that my baby needs me?"
To my defense
I held my ground. Angry, she called Juma, the HM. For the first time in a long time, Juma defended me. The second person to complain was Lutta. Although he came to work on Monday as assigned, his problem was having lessons on Tuesday.
Tuesday is market day in Mwisho wa Lami. Since Lutta sells livestock on market day, he bitterly complained about been given classes on Tuesday. The Deputy came to my rescue when Lutta complained.
"We lost a lot of time and can't waste any more time," he told Lutta.
The defense by the HM and Deputy gave me confidence, and I believed the timetable would be implemented as it was. So when Madam Ruth, Juma's wife, complained about her back to back lessons, I told her that nothing would chang. "If you have a problem, talk to the HM," I told her.
"Let's see who will win this game," was all she told me. The Deputy and HM had not been in school on Monday and Tuesday, and reported on Wednesday.
During the first staff meeting, the HM dismissed teachers who complained about the timetable.
"We have little time to make up for lost time so I will not be listening to complaints," he said. "If you have any problem please swap with your colleague but do not interfere with Dre's timetable." The Deputy agreed with him and that buried the topic.
After the meeting, Ruth went to the HM office. The HM called me as soon as Ruth left his office.
"How can you give me classes every day of the week?" he asked me.
"Sir, it is the computer soft hardware that randomly assigned you the classes," I said. The deputy came into the HM's office as we were discussing this.
"Mr HM, Dre has also given me morning and evening classes, which is very difficult for me in this wet weather." The two asked me if I could change but I told them it would be difficult as any change would affect everyone else.
"I would suggest that you swap with your colleagues. With all due respect Mr HM I won't make changes. "
The next day, the HM called for a staff meeting and he instructed Tito and Anita to come up with a new timetable. "I have made timetables for many years during my time as a teacher and I never needed a laptop," he said. I could see smiles around the room. That is when I knew that I was in bad books with the school admiration. After that the HM and Deputy totally avoided me, which was a sign that they were plotting their revenge.
I did not know about their plans until I met Saphire, who is on interdiction, at Hitler's last Monday.
"I was at the DEO's office and I saw the returns form your school," he said. "Man, you are the only teacher in your school who will miss July's salary."
"What do you mean?"
"Juma has marked all the other teachers to have been in school during the strike except you," Saphire told. "And this is what TSC will use to determine who to pay and who not to pay."
That is when I came to know that TSC had asked all the HMs to submit returns showing the teachers who has reported to school during the strike.
This pained me greatly. How can it be that I, who had regularly come to school during the strike, would be marked absent while the rest, who never stepped in school, had been marked present? I confronted the HM the next day.
He admitted that he had submitted the returns but refused to discuss if he had marked other teachers present. "I can't discuss your colleagues with you," he said. When I asked him if he has marked me absent, he retorted. "And were you in school?" I told him that everybody else had not been in school but he laughed at me and asked: "Have you checked the details?"
He went on: "Dre, you were employed as a person and you will retire alone when your day comes. I checked the staff attendance book before I submitted my returns."
When I went to check the attendance book, I was shocked to learn that all teachers had entered their names as present during the strike period, including 14th July, which was a Sunday! And the HM had signed against every day making it impossible for me to add my name. I was in big trouble.
Later that day, my sources at the DEO's office confirmed that I was the only teacher who had been reported to have been on strike in our school and I would not be paid for 16 days. I am taking this up with Knut but my prayer to Kaimenyi is that with the financial problems haunting me, I can't even imagine life without my pay. Please sir, discipline me, warn me, anything, but please let me get my full pay.
Meanwhile, I am now actively looking to transfer from this school. Until then, I am on a go-slow.
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