ZAMBIAN publishers are justified and correct in challenging the manner in which the selection and publication of textbooks by the Ministry of Education has been done.
Former Education minister Geoffrey Lungwangwa said the centralizetion procurement of the exercise was wrong.
But the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has said they cannot investigate the corruption allegation by the Zambian publishers because they have not received a written complaint against some Ministry of Education officials involved in the procurement of educational material.
ACC public relations manager Timothy Moono said the Zambian publishers were welcome to lodge a complaint to the Commission.
He said the complainants should bring the matter by writing to the ACC.
Professor Lungwangwa said the choice of educational materials for schools was the responsibility of District Education Secretary (DEBS) and not the ministry whose role was to administer Government policy and not to interfere in the day-to-day running of schools.
He was commenting on the controversy between the Ministry of Education and Zambian publishers who have been left out from a lucrative Government tender to provide educational materials in Zambian schools.
The ministry has not only centralized but has now contracted foreign owned firms to develop and publish the textbooks.
Prof Lungwangwa said it was disappointing that the ministry wanted to adopt the centralization policy in the procurement of educational material which he said would adversely affect the education system in the country.
“Should the Ministry of Education centralize its operational system then there would be no need of having District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) offices in the districts.
“Initially the procurement of tenders for educational materials was done with the help of the DEBS offices in the districts who were able to choose and identify the type of material they wanted in their respective districts, and the centre (ministry) will only provide payments,” he said.
He said if the ministry wanted everything to be centered at the ministry it meant there was a problem that would eventually result into ineffectiveness in the operation.
Prof Lungwangwa said he was of the view that the complaints by the Zambian publishers were justifiable and based on the interest of the nation.
He said centralizing the operation of the ministry would be a recipe for ineffectiveness in the education sector that would result into poor quality.
Prof Lungwangwa urged the Ministry of Education to revisit its policies to provide quality education in the country.
He said the present Government should appreciate “a few efforts” that were left by past governments to improve the education sector.
Zambian publishers have complained that the new system the ministry was using to award the tender for the procurement of educational materials was not favourable, and disadvantaged the local publishers.
The publishers have challenged the Ministry of Education and Anti-Corruption Commission to call for an urgent meeting to enable them to prove the corruption allegations in the ministry.
It is alleged that some technical staff at the Ministry of Education are conniving with some foreign educational book publishers so that they could personally benefit.
ACC ,so can only investigate only when a complaint is lodged?Can’t you investigate on your own then rely on complaints?So just how do you intend to fight corruption with this stone age type of approach?
Its really shocking that ACC says there mandate is to investigate only when the complaint puts it in writing. TIZ can you comment. I s that true. Then Nation newspaper is right, ACC is useless
Some of us parents buy books for our children. Most of the books printed locally are simply of poor quality, e.g. books printed by times printpac
If Zambian publishers want to publish books they need to up their game. Even the paper they use is of inferior quality. Why should we as parents pay for inferior quality?
So says probably the worst deputy vice chancellor UNZA has ever had and definitely one of the worst minister of education Zambia has ever had! We know the the quality of the books these guys will publish will be rubbish. So why is this useless professor trying to say. Does he want our children to have poor quality books just like he helped flush the quality of Zambian education down the pan?! Please go away you focker!
You`re just exhibiting your PF dullness.
According to the ranking of the African Universities Unza cannot make in even in the 50 best universities in Africa. So how do you rate Lungwangwa as the worst Vice- Chancellor? Who do you rate as the best, and on what performance metrics?
Blago. Are you mad or drunk or just being a usual useless UPND cadre? Am saying this guy is one of the reasons UNZA is doing badly and you are condemning me. Remove your head from your back side and read your post again focker!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am even wondering how n earth one would think of appointing KAINGU as Minister of Education. What is there in KAINGU please , please. All he knows is devulging those sacustic words to Honerable women. Can the PF government look at the calibre of people it appoints in certain potifolios. Dr. Phiri was a better person to lead this ministry. Someone who only talks about the nude of Women what can he bring on the table for pupils and students to learn. Here is an issue at hand concerning education, the man is only doing other things somewhere else under the cover of darkness. I demand that Lungu removes this gentleman, oterwise all our daughters will be spoiled by what he has on his GREY matter.
Extremely useless professor in the history of entire region.
ACC is just like a market in which a buyer has a choice of which tomato they want. ACC is useless that even when you right to them and they see it will not benefit them they will not act but let them know that the person in question is from opposition they would even walk naked to pursue that person and dress him up with even 35 accounts so they can make him pay more lawyers and after acquitting that person is already broke. I do not trust any government agency to be professional. PF chaps locked DC’s office in Mazambuka and the police who locked the cadres in the cells , was pursued by PF officials to release the fools. PF is just messing the country and if they are not careful they will fall in the same that will make them regret.
Everything thing about PF government is corrupt.
As an INTERESTED PARTY, I support bo Lungwangwa coz we wont develop if anything lucrative is given to foreigners. What happened to locals getting these deals. talking of poor quality as one parents puts it is no excuse. we can always sign performance contracts. then we can aswell engage foreign companies as helpers so tht you keep that money in Zed and reduce ur exchange rate. Sometimes I feel people have lost touch with reality
This is the problem when you have never experienced the poor quality that these publishers produce. You are actually better off getting your stuff printed in China, though you might was to proof read it before final printing. These chaps will not do a good job period! This is our children’s future we are dealing with here and we need to safe guard it. Don’t be swayed by some professor in the history of African languages. How do such degrees even add value to our nation?
Meant ‘want to proof read it’
Kuba. Kuba base!!