Education Minister Stakes Hope On Supplementary Budget
By Lynette Manzini
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has staked hope on hiring more teachers on the supplementary budget that would likely be presented on July 28 2022 by the minister of finance.
Teachers’ associations claim that the average teacher-to-child ratio in government schools ranged from 1:70. The education sector has been experiencing a teacher shortage. A situation that has gotten worse as a result of teachers leaving for better-paying jobs.
Responding to a question in parliament about the scarcity of teachers Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Hon Everlyn Ndlovu said, ” her ministry was running short of teachers in different schools”.
Ndhlovu added that ” Our Ministry is trying its best to secure qualified teachers to augment those that are already in schools. …. I engaged the Ministry of Labour regarding this particular situation.
“We were promised 5000 teachers this year but because of inflation, we have managed to engage a small percentage of the required teachers.
“So we hope that the supplementary budget will come as a panacea to our problem which will also allow us to look at the issue of salaries, to secure vehicles.”
The minister emphasized the importance of a good foundation for primary school students, especially for Early Childhood Development (ECD) up to grade 3.
“The issue of ECD teachers is critical because, without elementary level teachers, the child does not have a good foundation because this is the level where the future of any student is cultivated, from Mathematics to other subjects,” Ndlovu said.
Education Minister Stakes Hope On Supplementary Budget
