Teachers start accessing leave grants: Strike to be called off

Finally there is hope for primary school learners across the country as government has started  paying striking teachers their leave grants, Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) has confirmed.

About 40,000 teachers across the country are currently on strike to force government meet their demands including pay hike and delayed leave grants.

TUM which has organized the strike, confirmed to Nyasa Times that some of its members have started accessing their leave grants.

Secretary General for  TUM  Charles Kumchenga said they were contemplating of calling off this strike which started last week.

“I can confirm that some districts have started receiving their leave grants,” said Kumchenga.

“We are yet to receive confirmation from other remaining districts.”

He said the onus was on the Accountant General to expedite the exercise to ensure all affected teachers are sorted out.

Minister of Education  Emmanuel Fabiano told parliament on Thursday that teachers’ leave grants for 21 districts are in Dstrict Commissioners funds.

Some learners across the country this week took to the streets to violently protest against the teachers’ strike.