Zambia: Newly hired teachers from Zambia who were employed as replacements have started receiving their appointment letters. The teachers who have come from different provinces are collecting their employment letters from the National Science Centre in Lusaka.
The appointment of the new teachers has been welcomed by many stakeholders. Further, Several teachers who were recruited shared that they had been waiting for the appointment for years.
One of the newly recruited teachers, Brian Hiyongo, who spoke to the media in an interview, has since thanked the government for employing him.
Hiyongo is grateful that he has finally been employed after waiting for over 10 years.
Another newly recruited teacher, Naomi Chansa, has also thanked the government, saying her dreams have finally come true. Chansa was happy as her living standards would improve and that of her family.
“Am thankful to President Hakainde Hichilema for ensuring that we are employed. Some of us have waited for over 10 to 20 years. This is truly a dream come true,’’ Chansa stated.
However, another teacher, Dejong Malala, who has been posted to Mafinga district, has described the collection of letters as complicated. He had to travel to the National Science Centre in Lusaka to collect the letter
Malala noted that he has spent more money on lodging instead of using the resources on other logistics to facilitate his travel to his designated school.
“ I am thankful to the President for giving me this job. However, there is a need to simplify the collection of letters as we are coming from far away places and are spending more money,” Let this process be simplified,’’ Mr Malala noted.
Another teacher, Francis Bwalya, also advised the Ministry of Education to give each province a day to verify their academic qualifications and collect the appointment letters.
Bwalya said that once this is done, it will help reduce the confusion and congestion currently occurring at the centre.
Early last month, the government recruited over 7000 teachers across the country.