GOVERNMENT is set to recruit at least 5 000 more teachers by mid-year to address shortages which has seen the teacher to pupil ratio go up in schools, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare minister Paul Mavima has said.
Mavima told Parliament last week the ministry was granted authority to recruit 5 000 teachers this year, though the teaching staff requirement was actually higher. “You will also realise that even as late as Sunday, an additional 1 600 teachers were recruited and the ministry has concurrence of Treasury to recruit a total of about 5 000 more teachers up to June,” he said.
“This is not just done in order to avert the adverse effects of these suspensions which are by the way being reviewed. Some of these people will be reinstated. It is also in order to just address the shortages that have already been there in the teaching field,” he said.
He said the recruitment of teachers was also meant to reduce the number of learners in one classroom in compliance with the World Health Organisation guidelines on Covid-19. — New Ziana