The Minister for Secondary Education is stepping up the hunt for teachers who are absent from work irregularly, by giving the staff of this ministry the opportunity to report them anonymously via a dedicated digital address.

This measure has not come out of the blue, if Minesec’s communications unit is to be believed. “This is not Minesec’s battle, it’s the State’s battle”. In a press release dated 30 May, Nalova Lyonga  called on “all those who know of teachers absent from their posts to report them“.

This explanation refers to the operation to physically count public employees initiated by the Ministry of Finance in 2018. At the time, the government’s treasurer, Louis Paul Motaze, announced that the aim of the count was to identify and remove from the State’s payroll all public servants who were making irregular payments due to unjustified absence, resignation or undeclared death.

A few days after Nalova Lyonga’s press release, this call to report absentees anonymously has sparked debate among teachers. In an article published on its website, the Syndicat national autonome de l’enseignement secondaire (Snaes) acknowledged that teachers are divided “between those who welcome Ms Lyonga’s appeal and their colleagues who refuse to accept it”.

In these circumstances, it is difficult to say whether this measure will help to combat irregular absences. This is a real concern, according to one of Minesec’s close colleagues. The latter regrets this, pointing out that there are not enough teachers available in the lycées.