Govt recruits 2 000 teachers ahead of 2nd term

Midlands Correspondent
Government has started recruiting 2 300 teachers ahead of schools opening for second term next week, to enable full implementation of the new curriculum introduced by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, a Cabinet Minister has said.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisca Mupfumira said the Public Service Commission (PSC) had started the process of recruiting the teachers and was working on modalities and administrative issues.

Minister Mupfumira said they were looking forward to completing the recruitment process before schools opened, as Government moved to address the shortage of teachers.

“We have started the process of recruiting the 2 300 teachers before schools open for the second term,” she said. “We are working on the modalities and administrative issues and we are looking forward to completing the process by Monday next week.”

Minister Mupfumira said last month that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education required more than 7 000 teachers urgently and these would be recruited in batches starting with the 2 300.

Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Lazarus Dokora is on record as saying more teachers were needed immediately to enable full implementation of the new curriculum.

“We want about 7 000 teachers and we have since approached Cabinet so that PSC can fill in the vacant posts,” he said in an interview.

New learning areas such as Mass Displays and Visual and Performing Arts need to be taught by skilled personnel, which personnel are not immediately available among the teaching staff already in service.