By Moses Michael-Phiri
BLANTYRE, Malawi
Over 100 Malawian primary school students took to the streets on Wednesday to protest delays in the payment of their teachers' salaries.
"We are not being taught and we have to sit for an exam next month," some of the protesting students complained.
Demonstrators, some as young as nine years old, blocked roads, threw stones at passing vehicles, and assaulted journalists covering the event.
Police officers were not to be seen, as primary school students caused traffic jams in some parts of the city.
Student protesters went around to various schools to urge their fellow leaners to join the demonstration.
By noon, many teachers had joined the protest as well, marching to the district education manager's office to demand payment of their delayed October salaries.
Protesting teachers danced and sang anti-government songs while waiting for the official to collect the petition.
The manager and her deputy were reportedly both out of the office at the time while their mobile phones were switched off.
The Teachers Union of Malawi, however, dismissed the protests as unlawful, citing government promises to pay the teachers this week.
Most teachers across Malawi have not yet been paid their October salaries.
Teachers are usually paid on the 30th of every month, but have recently not been receiving their salaries on time.
The situation has forced some teachers to reduce teaching time, while others have opted to completely stop teaching in an effort to pressure the authorities.
Meanwhile, at least 6,600 newly recruited teachers – mostly posted to rural primary schools – have gone five months without receiving their salaries.
Manfred Ndovi, acting public relations officer at the Education Ministry, confirmed that out of 10,000 teachers recruited in May, only 2,800 were currently on the payroll.
"We only managed to enter the data of 2,800 teachers by September," he told AA.
Ndovi said 9,400 teachers had reported for duty by September who were supposed to receive their salaries as soon as they were recruited.
"But the process of entering their data on the payroll needed more time," he asserted.
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