Teachers without houses is ‘beans’ – MP
By Ludia Ngwadzai
FEIRA member of Parliament Emmanuel Tembo says the recruitment of teachers without providing accommodation is compromising the quality of education in the country.
In an interview with The Mast, Tembo said the recruitment should come with the provision of basic needs such as accommodation, especially for teachers posted in rural areas to avoid compromising the quality of education.
He said newly recruited teachers were happy to have jobs but without accommodation it created a dark side of teaching in rural areas.
“Recruiting teachers without providing accommodation and basic conditions of service is compromising education quality and demoralising teachers. That is why teachers are running away from these rural posts,” Tembo said.
He said that while the government was planning to recruit 2,000 teachers this year, it should realise that decent accommodation was important to keep teachers.
Tembo urged government to employ the number that spoke to the need.
Recruitment without housing defeated the purpose of expanding access to education.
“The previous government built a lot of schools which created space for teachers, but we were in the process of also building housing. You cannot be employing teachers and posting them everywhere when there is no accommodation,” he said.
Tembo said teachers employed under the United Party for National Development (UPND) were living under pathetic conditions, with some in gr ass and mud huts, no staff rooms, no furniture and poor conditions of service, especially in rural areas.
“When we talk about the recruitment of teachers, we should talk about the well-being of teachers and being able to offer them the best conditions, even if it’s in rural areas. Right now, we have a scenario where some are living in huts, which is not just. Clearly, we’re not achieving the best of education for our children,” he said.
Tembo dismissed what he called an ambitious recruitment statement referencing the UPND’s 27,000 recruitment figure.
He said government should first address conditions for teachers already in service.
“Why recruit when you cannot pay people? This is just for political mileage to show that you are recruiting. This is not how it works,” he said.
Tembo said Zambia should use its mineral wealth to fund large-scale teacher housing.
“Zambia should get a fair share of its minerals. Get the resources there and build decent teacher housing, decent teacher housing for every teacher, rural or urban. Rural teachers must be given the best accommodation, the best conditions of service; these motivate them,” he said.
