The ministry of General Education says it has embarked on a countrywide validation programme on teachers countrywide.
Ministry of General Education Permanent Secretary (PS), Henry Tukombe says this is following the revelation of 500 unqualified teachers in the country who are on payroll.
ZANIS reports that Mr Tukombe was speaking at Kabwe Trust in Central Province when he officiated at the ongoing national teachers recruitment programme
The validation programme will soon be done throughout the country to check on the validity documents of teachers, the Permanent Secretary said.
Meanwhile, Ministry of General Education Permanent Secretary (PS) Henry Tukombe says the government is concerned with the leaking of confidential information to the social media.
Mr Tukombe says the leaking of confidential information is a serious breach of the professional code of ethics and warned erring officers of stern action.
The Permanent Secretary raised the concern when he addressed Provincial Education Officers (PEOs), College Principals, members of the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) and the Teaching Council of Zambia (TCZ) among others at the ongoing national teachers recruitment programme at Kabwe Trust in Central Province yesterday.
Mr Tukombe advised the teacher recruitment team to uphold confidentiality and avoid leaking premature information to the public until the final compilation.
He said the 2017 teacher recruitment was aimed at bridging the gap in rural and remote parts of the emphasizing that only candidates meeting the criteria in the guidelines are selected.
The PS said the recruitment, placement and deployment of teachers in schools will mark a milestone in achieving the ministry’s intentions of ensuring that service delivery in hard to reach schools across the country.
Speaking earlier , the ministry’s  Director of Human Resource and Administration Greatson Chipalo said 2, 500 teachers will be selected from the 30, 800 applications received.
Mr Chipalo said over 500 candidates have since been selected and assured the PS that the team will meet the deadline of December 31, 2017 for the recruited teachers to be initiated on the payroll.
He said the team was working hard to select quality teachers who will help to move the vision of the ministry forward.
2500 will be selected out of 30800? This is a scandal. It’s a disaster. The Government should look at building more schools to a mitigate the ever growing employment gap. This too much.
On the fake papers, I think someone asked a question that if you find a teacher with a fake Grade 12 certificate, but with a genuine Teacher’s College Diploma what is the Ministry going to do? There are so many people in this situation because when we’re in High School we’re young and playful. But later in life we mature but can’t go back to High School. We get a fake certificate and apply to college.
Later you get a Master of Arts, MA, bati Lombe?
Yes, an MA like mine. But I came to the US and got an equivalent to a Grade 12 certificate and enrolled in College. In Zambia you may not have a opportunity and money to get a GCE so the only way is to go to Exam Council and buy one pa window.
2500 too paltry as against 38000. it seems we’re creating more teachers colleges than those for anything else.But what type of education is in teaching? There’s need for more liberal policies in the labor market to avoid this impending time bomb of creating educated illiterats
2 500 trs recruitment is okey. Infact, its a milestone in the sense that this year’s budget indicated a wage freeze! Why are we even stretching the Government coffer further amidst negativity statements coming from Tax collector boss on civil servants salaries?
What is sad is that such small numbers of recruitment in crucial times means 90 percent are people that matter’s relatives. When you post them in needy areas stated, they do not stay even one hour, you hear they came with a transfer letter signed by a boss in the system. God forgive us for lies have become the order of the day to see bread on the table!
Let college owners reduce the University/college fees, they are too much for a country with inability to employee 30 800 trs extra today! On the ground, we need all of them but the treasury is weak.