According to the secretary general of Sinpes, Eduardo Peres Alberto, the strike will be declared on the 29th of this month, and will come into force five days later, being motivated mainly by the "silence of the authorities" in responding to the claim list of May 12, 2018.
"For reasons beyond our control, the negotiations did not continue, there is silence now on the part of the Ministry (of Higher Education) and there are also certain points in the claim book, such as the salary issue, the issue of infrastructure, lack of insurance of teachers' health" who were not assisted, the person in charge told Lusa.
The lack of funds for scientific research and university extension and the continuing training of teachers are also among the demands of Angolan teachers.
The "non-compliance" with some resolutions approved at the general meeting in May 2018, namely the holding of elections for rectors, deans and directors of public institutions of higher education also guides Sinpes' concerns.
"But this (elections in higher education institutions) does not happen to this day, even after hearing the pronouncements of the President of the Republic in 2019, hence we are going to declare a strike, because we do not want to be colluding with the poor quality of education in Angola", stated Eduardo Alberto Peres.
Asked about the global amount of debt, claimed for years, that the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESCTI) has with the teachers, the union leader realized that it was only settled at 70 percent.
"A part of the debt, 70 percent, has been remedied, but we still have outstanding issues, because even now the Ministry has not been able to present the debt payment report for a year," explained the professor.
Sinpes says, in an official informative note on the strike declaration, that it sent a note to the MESCTI last 25 August for "fulfillment of the resolutions and an updated claim booklet", where it presented a 60-day moratorium, but there is still a " pitched silence" of that organ.
"Given the open silence of the MESCTI about the referred document and the position of Sinpes, all that remains is to reinforce the position taken and maintain readiness. For this reason, we appeal to all professors for a class spirit with support for the unresolved aspects", reads if in the note.
The President acknowledged, on the 5th of this month, that, "despite the efforts that have been undertaken", the "scarcity of teachers and administrative staff" to respond to the specific needs of each higher education institution in Angola is still a reality.
João Lourenço, who was speaking at the official opening ceremony of the academic year 2021/2022, assumed that "there is still a long way to go in increasing the number of full-time faculty and administrative staff".
"In order to obtain the ratio of professors/students closer to those recommended internationally," said the head of State during the opening ceremony of this ceremony, which took place in the province of Bié, in the central/southern region of Angola.
