BOULSA - Students at the Boulsa Provincial High School in the Center-North region of Burkina Faso initiated a 72-hour strike on Wednesday, January 24, 2024. The strike is a protest against the irregular attendance of their French teacher in the 6th, 5th, and 1st D classes.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the students have repeatedly approached the high school management since the beginning of the school year to express their concerns over their French teacher's frequent absences. Despite assurances from the administration that the issue would be addressed, the situation persisted, prompting the students to escalate their actions. They sent a letter to the provincial directorate of post-primary and secondary education to officially voice their demands.

The student spokespersons expressed frustration over their inability to complete assignments due to the teacher's absence, citing a recent example of an exercise on text contraction assigned on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, which they felt unprepared to handle. They vowed to continue negotiations until their demands are met.

Abdoulaye Sibiri Yerbanga, the Provincial Director (DP) of Post-Primary and Secondary Education, acknowledged the administration's awareness of the situation. He stated that the teacher in question had been questioned multiple times about his irregular absences. Despite receiving a warning letter, the teacher's attendance did not improve. Yerbanga noted that the teacher cited family reasons for his absences and had expressed a desire to be reassigned.

Yerbanga revealed that on the previous day, Tuesday, the teacher had committed to returning to regular attendance. It was also disclosed that the teacher does not have a permanent residence in Boulsa and commutes from Ouagadougou for his duties at the school.