By: Nyima Sillah
Some of the private schools across the country is now facing a difficult task as regard to keeping and maintaining their staff amid of the coronavirus pandemic especially with the triple declaration of State of Public Emergency in the country.
The proprietors are now finding it very difficult to pay salary of their both academy and non-academy staff working with them since the country has been hit by the coronavirus which has led to the closure of all schools in the country, nearly three months on.
In an interview with Mr. Mohamed Mansaray vice Principle of Archdeacon George said his school is finding it hard to pay staff due to some financial constraints.
He disclosed that “during the previous months, we paid full salary to our staff but in May we deducted some allowances from their salary due to financial constraints.”
According to Mansaray school closed around mid-March so they were not able to collect school fees from students and this affected them and made it very hard for them to pay their staffs
He said they are trying to manage but it is something unsustainable. “Paying salary of staffs both teachers and other workers in the school every month when we are not receiving fees from the students is really challenging for us,” he lamented.
“Private schools depend on fees from the students in other to pay their staff. So if the situation should continue like this, at the end the board might not able to pay the staff,” he noted
We appeal to government to come on board and help in terms of finance and consider the payment of tax paid by each member of staff.
He pointed out that, Students also finding it hard to cope and study normally online because the situation is unusual. He added that they also found it hard to have access to data and having them online is really challenging.
His prayer like others in private schools is that the State of Public Emergency is not extend again “because it is already having impact on the GABECE and WASCE,” he added.
However, Momodou Colley Head of High School Sebec International expressed that education and health are not profit making ventures.
“I think if there was no submission coming forward, this is a time for government to come on board to help private schools. It is really a challenging period because some parents will say they don’t have their full salary so they can’t pay and we cannot also sit and say hence school fees are not paid, we will not teach.”
Meanwhile Colley called on The Gambia government to step in and give some subvention to help them. In term of tax, noting that he is not saying it should be ignored but they should work it out and see how they could help in regarding to their payment of tax.
“Fortunately for us, we have very cooperative parents I won’t say they are not paying. And we also consider the fact that students are not coming to school so we eliminate all the other fees and tell them to pay only tuition. Though it is not even enough to pay salary but we are trying to manage thinking that help will come from somewhere,” he expressed.
According to him his school did not stop teaching students because they explore several possibilities and online classes so that it can be materialize. “The mechanism and platform are there but how to get the students responsive is a challenge,” he affirmed.
Mr Ismaila Rasaq a staff at Gambia Methodist Academy said, the board of Gambia Methodist Academy is paying them with their full salary despite the fact that students have not paid their third term fees.
“My school has not been collecting fees from any student but the board is paying us. This I thinking they are taking from somewhere to meet the obligation but very sure they will refund at due time when school resume. And students need to pay their third term school fees because we are conducting online classes with them,” he disclosed.
He urged the Government not to extend the State of Public Emergency again instead they should have a discussion with the Ministry of Education to see how they can open schools because the grade nines and twelve’s need to do there exams if not, it is going to disturb the students, parents and teachers.
He confirmed that there are many private schools now that cannot pay the salaries of their staff because they depend on the students’ school fees “so government should come on our aid.”
