Tanzanian Teachers Beaten in Front of Their Students Teachers at low-performing school in Tanzania were caned by officers in front of their students.   In all, 19 teachers were beaten after a report blamed the low exam results on teachers either showing up late to work, being absent from work or not teaching the official curriculum. Atrivus Leonard, one of the teachers who were caned, has not been back to work since the incident. “I have not been able to teach since this happened. I feel inferior to the children now,” he told the BBC. The nation’s teachers union is looking to sue District Commissioner Albert Mnali, who ordered the teacher caning. “The caning of our teachers is shameful,” the union chairman told the BBC. “We have informed the police in Bukoba that we will be marching through the town to demand the government takes disciplinary measures against Mr. Mnali. We want him to leave, he is not fit for his job,” he said. The incident happened in the east African nation’s city of Kagera. National education officials are condemning the caning. The country’s deputy Education Minister Mwantumu Bakari Mahiza, called the actions “abnormal” and said that whoever called for the canings “should have their heads examined.”

Rioting Erupts on French Caribbean Isle of Guadeloupe Violent protests on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe have led to dozens of arrests, reports the BBC. The protests, which began last month, are over the nation’s rising cost of living. The island uses the euro and many residents don’t believe their pay is matching up with the skyrocketing prices. Police used tear gas to try to disperse the crowds, protest organizers say, which left many injured. But law enforcement officials say they were forced to respond after getting pelted by stones. Tourism is a major money generator, and the protests have reportedly caused thousands to cancel their vacation on the island.

Niger government ordered to pay $20,000 to ex-slave. The government of Niger must pay a woman $20,000 (10 million West African francs) who, at 12, was sold into slavery and held captive for 10 years, ruled a West African court reports The Associated Press. Niger is at fault because it failed to enforce its laws against slavery, the court ruled.  The former slave at the center of the case, Hadijatou Mani, who is now 24, told the court she was forced into work as a servant and a sex slave until she was freed in 2005. Her former master only freed her because he apparently wanted her to become his wife legally. Slavery was banned in Niger in 2003. In her complaint (which she originally filed in Niger courts but decided to move to the West African court) Mani asked for 50 million francs. “If Niger’s judicial process had functioned normally, there would have been no need to call on an international court to re-judge this case,” Chaibou Kaber, her lawyer, said. The court ruled that Niger was “responsible for the inaction of its administrative and judicial arms,” said a statement read by the court’s president. The court is run by the Economic Community of West African States, of which 15 nations are a part. The body itself doesn’t have great power to force Niger to follow the ruling; however, a spokesman for the country said the government will abide by the ruling and pay Mani the judgment. This landmark ruling could serve as a wakeup call to Niger and other countries in the region and encourage officials to enforce anti-slavery laws more strongly. While West Africa has a history with slavery and some still openly hold slaves, many countries have begun to crackdown on the illegal practice.
Teachers in St. Vincent will end strike. Teachers in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines have ended their strike and are set to go back to work Tuesday, reports the BBC. Teachers in the Caribbean island nation had been on strike for two weeks because of a salary dispute. But the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union made the decision to end the strike during an emergency meeting last Friday, according to the union’s president, Joy Matthews.  The union is still strongly against the government’s plan to implement new salary scales for reclassification purposes that, according to teachers, would leave some earning less than they did before. Instead of the new salary scales put in place by a national public-sector re-grading program, they would like to see their pay increased.