The Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) and the Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) have welcomed government’s plans to formulate a code of ethics for teachers.
Both ZNUT and ZANEC said the formulation of a code of ethics for teachers will bring about sanity in the teaching profession.
Recently, government announced that it will soon present the Professional Teachers Regulatory Body Bill to Parliament to pave way for the formulation of a code of ethics for the teaching fraternity.
Speaking in a separate interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today, ZNUT General Secretary Newman Bubala said a code of ethics for any profession plays an important in improving service delivery.
Mr. Bubala noted that without a code of ethics, workers fail to work according to the expectations of the public and consequently affect national development.
He explained that this was why a code of ethics is vital as it will also help in maintaining discipline among erring teachers.
And Mr. Bubala has noted that government should ensure that in the code of ethics, teachers that have been fired from government schools do not find employment in private schools.
He said this will ensure that teachers are regulated in their profession just the way it is with other professions.
He further urged government to ensure that teachers are also part of the formulation process if the code is to address key issues in the education sector.
“For us teachers, we want to ensure that we follow this bill closely and also urge the government to include us in the formulation process,” he aid.
And ZANEC Chairperson Barbara Chilangwa said government should be praised for coming with such an idea.
Ms. Chilangwa stated that the teachers are the only professionals that do not have a professional regulatory body despite them comprising a big number of employees in the country.
“The teaching service is one of the largest industries so it is surprising to see that they do not have a professional body,“ he said.
She said a code of ethics will assist people to hold teachers in high standards in society.
She noted that the code will also help rekindle the trust that people have had in the teaching service in the past.
Ms. Chilangwa added that by having professional guidelines, issues of abuse and examination leakages will also be effectively addressed.
ZANIS
It has been long overdue