After strike action threat: Gov’t begins paying research modernisation allowances of lecturers.

Minister of State, Jacques Fame Ndongo

Government has begun paying the research modernisation allowances of university lecturers for the first quarter of the year. The payment exercise began in earnest Monday.



The development was officially disclosed during a meeting chaired by the Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo. 

The session brought together lecturers of some state universities including that of Buea, Douala and Bertoua. Minister Fame Ndongo was accompanied to the parley by some of his close collaborators including his Secretary General, Prof Wilfred Gabsa.

The lecturers who have been taking turns to receive their financial packages, will receive allowances ranging from 380,000 FCFA for assistant lecturers and over a million FCFA for full Professors.

The payment of the allowances comes days after university lecturers had called for a strike action over the nonpayment of the said allowance.

But when Minister Fame Ndongo took the floor during the working session, he advised the lecturers to refrain from grounding university activities while requesting for their allowances.

He told the lecturers that President Paul Biya who is the vision bearer of the country’s university vision, considers the welfare of lecturers a top priority. 

He said, it is for this reason that since 2009, government has regularly paid out research allowances for university lecturers in every quarter of the year.

While citing research as key to university training, the Minister admonished the lecturers to make judicious use of the allowances placed at their disposal. 

In a lighthearted remark that attracted laughter, the Minister warned the lecturers against using the allowances to hang out in leisure joints or settle utility bills. 

He said the money is purposely offered to facilitate research that is capable of contributing to the improvement of knowledge in the country. 

The minister told the lecturers that they are expected to carry out research works in various domains so as position Cameroonian universities among the best on the planet.

Meanwhile, some of the lecturers who filed passed Monday at a at a specialised payment centre lodged at the Ministry of Higher Education, have been expressing gratitude to government for the gesture.

Most of them who spoke to reporters, have expressed delight over the prompt payment of the allowances which they say will greatly help in various research projects they intend carrying out.

Dr Njume Emmanuel Ekindesone, a senior lecturer of American literature at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Buea, UB, has described the payment of the allowance as timely.

The lecturer said: “The research modernisation allowance is going to help me not only to register for conferences but equally to pay gadgets which are important for modernising research today”.

He told reporters that: “We have gone digital in Buea. We have lectures that are not only face-to-face, but we also have online lectures. So, this modernisation allowance will facilitate the teaching and learning process”.

“The minister just reminded us in the session that we have to use the money for developmental projects. So, I am already thinking about the various projects that I can venture into thanks to this research modernisation allowance,” Dr Njume added.

Commenting on the payment procedure, Dr Njume was full of praises.

“I am must say that the procedure of payment as the Minister just said is sometimes sloppy but he reminded us that it is the Head of State’s desire to modernise research in Cameroon; that is why it is a quarterly payment. So, after every three months, we are sure to have this modernisation allowance. Sometimes, the procedure might be slow but we end up being paid,” he said.

 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3338 of Tuesday January 14, 2025

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