Southern Province Education Officer Mr Festus Mungo has appealed to stakeholders in Namwala District to help the Ministry of Education to prevent any examination malpractices from occurring.
And Mr Mungo has pleaded with teachers in Namwala District to return to work as Government was frantically looking into their various grievances including rural hardship allowances and anomalies on their pay slips.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Namwala District Commissioner Wilson Siadunka, Friday, Mr Mungo said he was concerned about the sit-in protests by teachers in the District and called on them, to
return to work as all their problems would be sorted out as soon as possible.
ZANIS reports that some teachers at Namwala High School, Baabwe Basic School, Lubanga Shabongwe Basic School, and Kalundu Basic School went on a sit-in protest last week disrupting normal classes.
During a meeting on September 27, 2010, teachers at the affected school resolved to go on a sit-in protest after they accused the Ministry of being insensitive to their plight despite numerous follow
up meetings by their Union representatives over rural hardship, remote allowances, and anomalies on some teachers’ pay slips.
But Mr Mungo said the sit-in was not necessary as their matter was been looked into.
“I have come here to request teachers to return to work and assure them that the Ministry of Education was doing everything possible to address their problems as soon as possible,” said Mr Mungo.
Mr Mungo also appealed to stakeholders to assist the ministry to prevent any examination malpractices from happening in the District.
He observed that examination malpractices such as leakages dId not only dent the image of the Ministry but also compromised pupils’ academic qualifications and ultimately retarded development in the nation.
“We are appealing to all stakeholders to help us in preventing examination malpractice so that at the end of the day we produce a cadre of qualified pupils to steer the country’s developmental agenda
forward,” Mr Mungo said.
Meanwhile, Mr Siadunka said teachers in the District should be patient and allow Government to solve their problems instead of resorting to protests.
ZANIS
