Learning was paralysed in most of public schools yesterday as about 90 percent of teachers staged a countrywide strike to demand a pay rise. Not even processions by their students would soften the hearts of the angry teachers.
But the government was just as steadfast in its resolve, warning the teachers that action would be taken against those who took part in the outlawed strike. The Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, told a hastily convened press conference in his Dar es Salaam office that the government will withhold the salaries of all teachers who take part in the boycott.
Leaders of the Tanzania Teachers Union (TTU) moved fast to calm their members, advising them that no one will be penalised for not going to work because their strike met all the legal requirements.
viaSchools paralysed.