PTA Employed Teachers: Need To Valorise Work Done

In the yester-years teaching was regarded as a noble profession. Teachers were not only respected, but also feared in and out of the school campus. Despite their meagre pay package, they carried out their duties with a lot of vigour and determination. From their countenance, one could easily say without any fear of contradiction that the teaching profession is their calling. The joy with which they disseminated lectures to pupils and students did not only facilitate understanding, but helped in building a solid teacher-pupil relation that went beyond school. Today, things have drastically changed with many trained and competent teachers gradually backing out of the profession for greener pastures. Their departure especially from government schools in rural areas have often created big teacher-deficit gaps that need to be replaced. With the government not being able to recruit and deploy teachers in all the needy schools, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), have come in very strongly recruiting young Cameroonians who still have the love for teaching and determined not to throw the towel so soon. Though as of 2026, there is no exact number of PTA teachers in Cameroon, government has for the past few years, integrated thousands of PTA teachers into the public service, including programmes for the absorption of 9,000 PTA teachers over three years and others involving similar batches of around 3,000 teachers for primary and nursery schools. Despite their willingness to give all they can, majority of the PTA employed teachers are being discouraged by the low and irregular payment of salaries. It is no more a secret that in Cameroon, salaries of most PTA teachers are below the Guaranteed Minimum Inter- Professional Wage (SMIG), which stands at FCFA 60,000. In some nursery and primary schools, wages range between FCFA 30,000 to 50,000 per month, while in others the pay package does not exceed FCFA 30,000 especially in rural areas. With majority of them earning less than FCFA 60,000, the questions one is tempted to ask is, how do these teachers make ends meet? How can a teacher with a family and on rent, with a pay of FCFA 25,000 survive the prevailing economic hardship, coupled with the skyrocketed market prices for consumer goods? While pundits are reflecting on the miracles some of these PTA teachers perform, another worry that comes to mind is, how can a teacher single-handedly teach a class every day for nine months? From 7h30 a.m. to about 3h30 p.m, while we have schools in our major towns with well-paid teachers, having only two days of lectures a week and some parading the corridors of ministries doing nothing. To the authorities that be let us be frank; no matter how determined, competent and mentally strong a teacher may be, he or she can’t teach about five to six subjects daily. “History, geography, literature, civics, economics… is him, chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology…is still the same teacher” without any rest and additional benefits. Having proved their resilience and patriotism, it is crystal clear to everyone that time has come for the authorities that be, to pay more attention to the plea of PTA employed teachers. This time around the incessant calls for better remuneration and compensation should not fall on deaf ears. It is true that improving the working conditions of PTA employed teachers requires a combination of financial stabilization, professional recognition, and better integration into the school community. This can be done by putting in place several strategies beginning with the drafting of work contracts that ensures consistent salary payments, in order to avoid reliance on PTA fundraising. This can be followed by benefits that cost little but improve quality of life, such as subsidi...