Government has with immediate effect banned paid-for public tuitions in learning institutions.
Education Science Vocational Training and Early Education Minister, John Phiri, announced the ban on paid-for public tuitions in all the schools in the country on Thursday when he graced the inaugural Provincial Careers Day Exhibition and official launch of the Campaign against Malpractice in Zambia held at Mpika Boys’ Secondary School in Mpika district of Muchinga Province.
Dr. Phiri said with immediate effect, no school shall be permitted to hold tuitions in holidays or during weekends unless such tuitions will be paid for by the school and will involve all the schools.
He, however, said internally arranged tuitions which attract no cost at all to the pupil are encouraged.
Dr Phiri observed that paid-for public tuitions in schools disadvantaged pupils from poor families.
The minister also warned that no school, government, private or Missionary, will host learners from other schools to provide extra tuitions unless that particular school organizes its own pupils using the school money.
Dr Phiri also announced that with immediate effect all class teachers from Grades 8 to 12 shall avail subjects’ syllabus to all the pupils at the beginning of each term.
He said subject teachers should write the syllabus on the board for the pupils to copy or give them hand-outs of the syllabus if resources are available so that they (pupils) can know what they are supposed to cover in that particular term.
The minister has since directed all head teachers to ensure that the directive is implemented, adding that the move would help the school administration to effectively supervise the teachers in their respective schools.
Dr Phiri also called on the pupils in all the schools to ensure that they report to the school administration through their class monitors or prefects any teacher failing to finish the syllabus in that particular time.
He warned that any teacher failing to finish the syllabus of particular terms will be charged accordingly.
“We want to completely do away with examination malpractices in the country. Government will not allow a situation where pupils learn only 3 subjects out of 18 in a year. The genesis of the examination malpractices is failure by the teachers in respective schools to finish the subjects’ syllabus forcing the pupils and the teachers as well to find other alternatives means of ensuring that they pass the examinations, “said Dr Phiri.
Dr Phiri charged that government can effectively stop the examination leakages if teachers diligently delivered their lessons and pupils’ diligently accepted that deliverance.
He further warned that any school head teacher whose school persistently reports cases of examination malpractices must be charged and that the punishment should include a demotion for the head teacher who will be found wanting.
On Provincial Mock Examinations for Grades 7, 9 and 12 classes, Dr Phiri said they must be consistently be done on time to allow the Provincial office reflect on them and make a decision, adding that best performing head teachers and their staff must be rewarded.
And government says it remains committed to providing quality education to all its citizens. However, said that the state is concerned about low literacy levels which are currently prevailing in the country.
The Education Minister noted that the current situation with regards to the literacy levels, if left unchecked, has the potential of denying the learners full participation in quality education.
Dr Phiri said reading skills are important to children s success in school and work, saying reading can be a fun and imaginative activity for children which he said opens doors to all kinds of new world for them.
And in launching the Provincial Careers day exhibition, Dr Phiri said government attaches great importance to the need of having an effective guidance programme aimed at preparing youths for future roles and productive lives.
Dr. Phiri said it is common knowledge that today’s learner is seen as a developer needing not only academic knowledge but also information about the world of work.
He said that there is vital need to prepare young people about the realities of employment situation to help them relate knowledge and skills acquired in education to their lives after school.
Dr Phiri said he expect teachers to guide pupils in terms of subjects that can help them meet the required qualifications or grades without any destructive motive, adding that humiliating pupils in the name of providing Career Guidance will haunt some teachers for the rest of
their lives.
The minister, however, implored pupils to develop interest in knowing and understanding themselves before they make a decision about the career each pupil wants to take.
And University of Zambia Manager for International Liaison and Public Relations, Mulenga Musepa, told the pupils drawn from all the seven districts in the province that it is not difficult to get a place at the university but that pupils lack knowledge on the courses and the subjects they will need to do for them to do a course of their choice.
Mr Musepa appealed to the pupils to consult their teachers when choosing a career.
Meanwhile, Dr Phiri has warned the teaching staff to stop humiliating pupils in the name of carrying out their duties as teachers.
Dr Phiri said teaching should not be perceived and taken as physic training but as a calling from God which has a lot of blessings once children become good leaders in society.
He noted that some teachers have a tendency of venting their anger caused by their personal problems on innocent pupils who are expecting professional conduct from the teachers to help them realise their dream careers.
Speaking at the same function, Muchinga Province Education Officer (PEO), Jobbicks Kalumba, said the objective of holding the Careers Day Exhibition is to give pupils career guidance and prepare them for future challenges.
Mr Kalumba explained that his office decided to host the provincial careers day as another platform of information sharing with both teachers and pupils while exchanging ideas on professional exhibitions.
Exhibitors at the Career Exhibition Day included Chilonga Nursing School, TAZARA Training School, University of Zambia and the Zambia College of Agriculture, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) Zambia Police, Zambia National Service (ZNS), Zambia National Commercial Bank ( ZANACO) Finance Bank, Indo Bank and Local Government.
Others were the Immigration Department, Zesco, Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), Drug
Enforcement Commission, Zambia Prisons Services, and the media.
The Provincial Careers Day and launch of the Campaign against Malpractice was held under the theme” EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND DEDICATED LEARNING, A PILLAR TO QUALITY ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE”.
ZANIS
Olo yakakana.Umunandi Stevo nomba yamukosela pantu umo afyunya iya castle muma tuitions.
U made me laugh uncontrollably. U made my day
Copy the syllabus on the board for students to copy??? This instruction is weird and should not have come from the minister.
ya ! you made made my day.
Pay the teachers lucrative salaries and your job will be much easier. More like charity begins at home.
Its not about paying them well, that’s what they chose to do, to teach and make sure pupils understand, not just lazing around waiting to teach during the holidays so that they can make money, the other problem also is that teachers of nowadays are not called to be teachers they don’t not have that passion to teach, they choose to to reaching because they think there is nothing else they can do in life , these days even a g reade twelve failure can do teaching as long as they have the money. How can somwone who is dull teach? Teacher uwalichikopo
Iwe Wilo…its about paying them well!!! without food and adequate cash to live off they have no choice but to create “extra” lessons!! we all know that human basic needs MUST be met before we can perform well.And these include food,shelter transportation and other basic necessities.Remember they have families to feed too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stupid thinking by the minister.
What’s the rightful thing to do then??????? Finish your argument, man.
That’s a worst move..Tuition really help especially if someone was sick and want to catch up with friends..most schools don’t cover the sylabus.
That’s the whole point. Schools should cover the whole syllabus.
They have to make sure they teach and finish the sylubus.
the goverment did not ban tuition, they banned paid-for public tuitions, which i think is a good thing.
Bwana Minister go to Lusaka girls and find out if grade nines are on schedule in maths and history. It is bad especially mathematics. i cry when i see my niece failing to answer grade 8 maths saying they were not learning most of the year last year.
@wrt
So you want to pay for something your niece must have been taught for free?
The next thing we will hear is that she was defiled.
Most teacher do this on purpose by not teaching during the term so that they make money
the availing of termly plans to be followed during a term or yr is a welcome move but i dont think the banning of tuitions is a good move, when i was at Munali Boys High we started learning biology in grade 11 term three due to lack of teachers and the only reason i got an A was because i had a very good teacher who arranged tuitions for us. they should start by ensuring that there are enough teachers with good working culture, otherwise this move might turn around and bite the same students in the as@
This is one of the most progressive thing that has ever been done by the PF goverment. Its just sad that someone would refer to this as being stupid!! If this is stupid, what is not?? Give credit where it is due
indeed lets be mature and learn to give credit where its due,think of those children whoese parents cant afford tuition,some teachers even become lazy to teach a full class but when you find them doing extra lessons they do well,shame
Naikosa, this move is very much against the working culture of Zambians. Teachers puts in their best during tuition. During normal class its just a routine but during tuition, its make sure the pupil should understand so that they come for the next topic. Maybe i should introduce that in the health sector, if you have malaria, i will give you panado and advise you to come to my private hospital, there its proper treatment. This minister, how did you know our tricks.
This man is not fit to be MOE minister.He thinks making emotional outbursts will bring good results.Next time the man will claim that he was misquoted.The biggest losers are learners and not teachers.
Tuition is meant for revision and not covering new work. The so called poor pupils miss nothing in actual sense.Teachers normally use holiday tuition to deal with exam technques,expected questions etc.The minister has missed the point.
Then let teachers do these private lessons at their homes than using public facilities/schools which taxpayers (including parents who can’t afford private lessons) for free! Even here in developed countries, private lessons/tuitions are not allowed on public school grounds. It is up to the person offering lessons and the student/s to arrange a place for their lessons. But definitely NOT on public school grounds, using public facilities and material (chalk, classrooms, desks, bathrooms, blackboards, etc.)
This being extra income for those teachers engaged in it, Govt should not made to subsidize the activities of “private” entrepreneurs. Let teachers themselves incur the costs involved in providing these private tuitions—let them find or rent facilities to do their businesses!
Ichipuba cha minister. What has happened to his brains? Teachers are poor, if a pupil has money why can he not have advantage. It is life money gives you an advantage hello
Say some sense man. At your age you need know that yous should be providing mature arguments and not using those ugly words. Just sayin’.
Schools are not the only place when instruction can be conducted. Teachers will use their homes or parents’ home for teaching. This is an agreement between the teacher and the parent. I did this in Ndola before relocating to the USA.
The government as done something extraordinary and excellent to fever the imaginable and less privilaged people who can’t aford the so called extra lessons it done to ban and remove tuition education in Zambia, because it will be of help to improve the standard of teaching and learning in our country, many of our teachers concetrate more on tuition schools than general education for all, offering major factors of education to a small number of people won’t develop our nation but group work commitment and sacrifice will make us move to the next level, let everything be fair to everyone even those who can’t aford fees for extra lesson, infact these were just mulpractices, teachers could make those who atted their sesssions to pass by all means i.e by providing information and…
Good initiative
Good initiative will judge later after we see what will transpire
From where i ended……to those pupils who pay them money hence the’ll offer 75% to private session and 25% to general education for all meaning the private pupils the’d get the 25% offered by the same teachers 75% to make it 100%, what about the less privilage pupils the’d get 25% only some of them can’t even get otherwise they end up getting 15 percent of education and we laugh at them that their empty vessel forgetting that their the causa of all the consequences….where is democracy but atlast all powerful master here are ngafyacine…….and you government pay the teachers good salaries so that the’ll totally leave this practice for good……….
This is a good move though the people directly affected in terms of income will see it as a bad move by the minister. I just wish the govt can come up with a way of making some arrangments such as allowing teachers to teach for overtime allowance in situations were there is genuine need. Situations like the teacher was sick and wants to cover the syllabus using extra time such as weekends or holidays or were the teacher joins the school on transfer or new appointment and finds the students behind with the syllabus. The overtime can be arranged thru the school head and then the ministry should pay the teacher. I think with proper supervision and commitment from teachers, senior teachers, HODs and deputy Heads, the coverage of the syllabus can be done in the stipulated time.
It is not good to ban a prevailing situation without addressing the causes of the situation. Our education is in need of a serious dissection.
yes maka maka baMunali, TUNTEMBA NAMALIKEJI yavuta nkani
I can buy education for my children because i valve education and i can afford it no one should dictate me how my children will get that education. If it means paying a teacher i should do it freely. Just like i do not want my children to go to unza where i went. I want them to go to Namibia University because i can afford. Its a free market. My children should not suffer because of those who cannot afford tuition. No
that’s very good idea, you have favored poor pupils. plz make sure that teachers have done so.
Bwana minster wel done.Sylabuses re a guide to pupils.I remembr in 1994 going to DK to copy sylabus fr pure sciences & biology.At my sch we were not availd such.Now tuitions decision also fine.Poor poupils re left in the cold due to tcrs unwiling to teach main stream clasas waitng to teach undr tuitions & yet teachng is their career,why?Schools re business entities fr fatening tcrs pockets.Some evn advrtise a month aheard on znbc fr tuitions using government property & at the end nothng is remited to govt nor taxes paid on earned income.This is meduocre.Dr John wel done control ths mess & ensure compliance bravo!!!
I’ll start by saying that using public facilities to run their personal business is not acceptable. However, should the entrepreneurial efforts of teachers be stifled just because the ministry and schools are failing to carry out effective teacher performance appraisals? A bad teacher will be a bad teacher regardless of whether you ban tuition or not. This is essentially the same issue being faced in the US. The need to reward good teachers and penalize those that are not performing up to required standards. That should include the timely completion of topics outlined in the syllabus. If a parent decides that they want to invest extra to enable their kids to do better in school why should be place barriers to achievement in their way. It’s a free market economy.
these guys, the government should pay for the poor then thts why we hav goverments, help the little person
#20 big mose you have a right due to your wealth advantage to continue with tutions at any private institution of your choice but the minister was speaking for the poor who are intitled to good service by the well paid teachers, its the new rule and those not happy should find other more lucretive businesses.minister should at least allow the controlled holiday tution not those during school days and the syllabaii unvailing is a plus and should be made mandatory.