The teaching results for the third quarter and the 2023 school year may not be published by primary and secondary school teachers, said a member of the National Teachers' Association (ANAPRO).

This is one of the measures contained in an ANAPRO communiqué dated October 6, 2023, according to which overtime classes and second classes will be directly affected. But the teachers also say they will boycott the upcoming exams.

In the document, the association explains that these measures are due to the failure to pay overtime for 13 months, from September 2022 to October 2023.

"At this point, teachers have nothing left to do but stop and demand their normal statutory rights. The teacher is already tired, has no other weapon, has nothing left to do. They've simply stood up to demand their rights, and they've done so in a proper forum, by means of a document and a petition. We're leaving everything in the hands of the government, who should resolve this matter," he said.

According to the association member, it is not in the interest of teachers to harm the education process in Mozambique, and their social role is to support education.

"In this context, at this stage, a teacher's right is being overshadowed and some pressure has to be applied. These attitudes that have been written down will undoubtedly be taken by the teachers. They are aware of all this," he said.

In an interview with MZNews today, the ANAPRO source said that, since the publication of the communiqué, there had been slight progress in dialog with the Ministry of Education, where 18 points of the class's demands had been addressed, but stressed that measures could be taken if teachers do not receive what they are entitled to.

"Overtime is no longer a matter for discussion. They are extemporaneous. The law is clear: you worked, you got paid," he said, noting that delays in payment are no longer justified by the need to fit into the Single Salary Scale.

"In the same way that they have been paying their employees, we understand that they already have a solid salary, because they have been receiving it for over a year, on the same platform. If there was a problem of misalignment, we would understand that any situation could have retroactive effects in the event of failures," he said.

The source explained that when the group of professionals tried to "create situations", there were "simulations" of payment of overtime arrears. "Nothing ever came of it. Even the validation team never did anything again."

No more patience for empty promises

There is a communiqué from Matlemele Secondary School, dated November 15, indicating that, with immediate effect, it will not submit the results of the third quarter to the pedagogical sector; absence from the evaluation council; non-submission of the results for the 2023 school year; and boycott of this year's exams.

"What's at stake is that teachers have already been more than patient. They are the most patient and humble professional class that has managed to wait for a long time without paralyzing any activity. We kept going with the prospect that one day there would be a solution."

The secret meeting with the President of the Republic

"Faced with this whole situation, there are rumors that a meeting of strategically selected teachers is taking place today to meet with the President of the Republic," revealed the source, questioning the representativeness of this group. "Who are they going to represent?

He said there was a joint technical team identified by the Ministry of Education to deal with teachers' issues.

"Why can't this technical team be called in to talk to anyone in this nation about the interests of teachers?" he asked.

According to the source, this meeting aims to dramatize the teachers' demands, "the idea that you can't paralyze anything," he said.

Asked who and how the teachers were selected for the meeting with the PR, the source declined to comment.

"As a teacher I don't want to go into details. It's in the interest of the people who do it, and it's hidden, it's not known to every teacher. It also means that it's hidden for the teacher's own good. What is for the good of the majority cannot be hidden," he noted, saying that ANAPRO is not opposed to the meeting as long as "it is not against and to dramatize the interest of others".