Government recruits more teachers

Talent Gore

THE GOVERNMENT will recruit an additional 7 000 teachers this year to optimise the teacher-pupil ratio.

The teacher recruitment process has already seen the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education selecting 1 382 teachers, who are now undergoing vetting before deployment to various schools.

Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education director of communications and advocacy, Taungana Ndoro, said the 1 382 names selected had been sent to the Public Service Commission (PSC) for vetting.

“It is the PSC that is now the employer, and they have advised us that they are in the process of vetting and once approved, they will be deployed throughout the country,” he said.

Ndoro said the Ministry had also requested an additional 7 000 teachers and have requested Treasury to ensure their salaries and allowances are in place.

“The reason we are requesting more teachers is that we have noted that we have a challenge. You will notice that our teacher-pupil ratio is not optimal. We expect a ratio of one teacher to 35 pupils, but currently in some schools we have a ratio of one teacher to 50, 55 or even 60 pupils,” he said.

Rural schools are the worst affected and the Ministry has now adopted a deliberate approach to recruit teachers to work in communities they come from.