Maravi

ZNUT challenges govt to build more houses for teachers

ZNUT challenges govt to build more houses for teachers
Written by Zumani Katasefa in Kitwe
Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:18:09 AM

ZAMBIA National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) Copperbelt provincial chairman Brian Manyando has challenged government to allocate sufficient funds in next year's budget for the construction of teachers' houses countrywide.

In an interview, Manyando said government should consider setting aside adequate funds for the construction of teachers' houses countrywide to ease the accommodation woes that the teaching fraternity was currently going through.

He said the government recruited new teachers every year and that it was therefore important to be constructing new houses annually in order to ease accommodation problems that teachers go through.

"We have submitted to the government what we need government to address in next year's national budget. Government should look into the issues of housing allowance, many teachers want housing allowances to be increased by K500,000 across the board and negotiations for next year should be completed by January," he said.

Manyando said the government should ensure that all outstanding arrears owed to the teachers were cleared before the new budget was presented to Parliament.

"We want all the outstanding arrears owed to the teachers such as rural hardship allowances to be cleared before the presentation of the new budget. It is sad that the government promised to clear the fixed band housing allowance this August but this is September, it has not cleared. We just pleaded with our teachers, they wanted to boycott classes this term in protest against government's failure to pay them the fixed band allowance, the 10 percent owner occupier should also be looked into," Manyando said.

He urged the government not to scrap off the rural hardship to allowances for teachers working in rural areas such as Lufwanyama, Mpongwe and Masaiti districts. anyando said non-payment of allowances discouraged teachers from putting in their maximum effort in executing their duties.

"Although a teacher may not be on strike, but when he is not paid what is due to him adequately and on time, he is automatically demotivated from performing his duties as expected. This affects the child who is in school," he said.

Manyando also said it was unfortunate that government had decided to be adamant over the teachers who were housed in classrooms and storerooms in some schools within Chingola.

Labels: BRIAN MANYANDO, TEACHERS, ZNUT

posted by MrK @ 11:21 PM