Before Oscar Requena left the Ministry of Education, the BNTU was at odds with them. Many teachers complained after an "advance" was deducted from their accounts. According to the president, they never agreed to any advances or the repayment of them.
But today Requena told us that before he left that office, he held a cordial meeting with them. However, now he puts the blame on the school managements.
Oscar Requena, Minister of Rural Transformation
"I did an interview in which I had explained that the teachers, back in December of 2024, they got an advance, and that is the truth. We had a meeting with the accountant general and her staff, the treasury, prior to meeting with the BNTU executive."
"I believe we had that meeting on Thursday, last week Thursday, and on Friday, we had a very good meeting. The accountant general and her staff, we had the treasury department, the management of the Ministry of Education together with the BNTU executive."
"To be honest, the BNTU understood what the issues are that, indeed, the teachers had gotten an advance. They had concerns, and we also had concerns in terms of how the deduction was done. The truth is that it was done, and I wanted to say absolutely clear."
"What came out very clearly in our meetings with the accountant general, the treasury department, and the BNTU is that several of our management are not taking their responsibilities seriously because they are the ones who have to submit the information to the Ministry of Education so that we can forward it to treasury and the Ministry of Finance in a timely manner."
"So, it's not like we were sitting on our laurels and not acting on it. I mean, it's not fair, sometimes, the way the media carries out these stories, because at the end of the day, it makes it appear as if nothing was happening, and when in fact that is not the truth."
"We were meaningfully engaged with the union, with a view to resolve together. We had a great meeting on Friday. I don't think you've heard anything after Friday, because we are, you know, as the minister, along with my management team, we set out a clear plan as to how we are going to move forward to address those issues."
