Prostitution in Luapula pains Sata
By Misheck Wangwe, Roy Habaalu and Prince Chibawah in Mansa
Thu 21 Nov. 2013, 14:00 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says it pains him that a lot of women in Luapula have turned to prostitution due to poverty and underperformance of members of parliament in the province. And education minister Dr John Phiri says there is no PF without President Sata.
And President Sata yesterday asked the people of Luapula to give him individuals to stand as members of parliament if the current ones fail to perform.
Addressing a huge rally at Muchinka Primary School grounds in Mansa where he went to drum up support for the PF candidate in the Mansa Central parliamentary by-election Dr Chitalu Chilufya, President Sata said it was shameful that a lot of women had resorted to prostitution just to feed their families and all the leaders were watching.
President Sata who ordered all PF members of parliament from Luapula, including the candidate Dr Chilufya, to kneel before the crowd shortly before his address, said he wanted everyone to work hard to end poverty and deliver on the promises of the PF.
"You MPs, you can't feel ashamed that 49 years of independence some of these children have never seen even a pair of shoes? They are barefooted and you Chilufya you are here, nobody called you to come and stand as MP, you came on your own asking for a job. Look, at independence, 49 years ago people were using pit latrines and they are still using pit latrines as toilets. People die when these pit latrines collapse and you are there saying, 'we are MPs'. You must be ashamed," President Sata said.
He said it was sad that his members of parliament were not taking pride in representing the people of Luapula that had over the years produced some successful businessmen.
And President Sata threatened that he would get rid of all the members of parliament from Luapula because they were not performing.
"Mubamone bonse aba. Uyu mwaka uleisa 2014, Mumpeleko ba MP abakwata amano, fyonse ifi tufitanfye (look at these MPs. This coming year, 2014, give me MPs with senses. All these must be fired)," President Sata said while pointing at the MPs that were made to kneel before the crowd.
"Natukwata ama plans nomba ngatukwete fi MP ifipuba, ama plans tukatwala kumbi. Tupeniko ba MP aba champuka (we have plans of development but we will take our plans somewhere else because we have foolish MPs. Give us MPs who are clever)," President Sata said.
He said the PF had serious plans for development such as building of secondary schools.
President Sata said he was not happy that his MPs in Luapula were not clever.
He said even the former MP for Kawambwa, Elizabeth Chitika, was busy misleading the people but did nothing to develop the constituency.
"Uyu Davies Mwila (Chipili PF member of parliament) said the late Kennedy Sakeni was a Ng'umbo by tribe and they have adopted another Ng'umbo in the name of Dr Chilufya to inherit him. Now when I was a young man in Mufulira, people that brought public transport were from Mansa. I remember Nselemukila, Costar, Kapesha and the Mwense brothers. They all came from here and the fish that we used to enjoy on the Copperbelt came from here. Now you people, what kind of MPs are you? Nobody came to you that come and be our MP; you applied on your own and you must work," President Sata said.
He said his MPs from Luapula must work more than the opposition MMD member of parliament for Chembe, Mwansa Mbulakulima, because he was just alone in the province.
President Sata urged the people of Mansa Central to vote for Dr Chilufya adding that his adoption was temporary and if he does not perform, he would be gotten rid of.
"There is no water in Mansa. You should feel embarrassed as MPs; look at the suffering of the people. Where are we going as a nation if there is no water in Mansa? I want boreholes at each and every village. If you fail to do it, I will do it myself," President Sata said.
Notable among President Sata's entourage were education minister Dr John Phiri, community development minister Dr Joseph Katema, local government minister Emerine Kabanshi, PF deputy secretary general Bridget Atanga, Davis Mwila and other senior party and government officials.
President Sata flew back to Lusaka after the rally.
And Dr Phiri said there was no PF without President Sata.
"PF is synonymous to one name and that is Sata. PF is Sata and Sata is PF. So (Dr Chilufya) when you join us, don't start bringing nonsense you start saying the President is about to die; does he look like someone who is about to die? And I know you can contribute positively to our party," Dr Phiri said.
He said the government would in 2014 lay a foundation stone for the construction a university in Luapula Province. He said the government was in the process of upgrading 22 basic schools to secondary schools.
"Because of the archaic procedure in procurement, the foundation stone for the university I will ask you in 2014 to come and lay the foundation stone," he informed President Sata.
PF campaign manager for the Mansa Central by-election Nickson Chilangwa said the party was united and working as a family. Chilangwa told President Sata that the people in the province were against confusion.
"Luapula is peaceful; the campaigns have been very peaceful. The party is well organised and we are working as a family. People of Luapula love peace," said Chilangwa.
Tomorrow Mansa residents vote for their member of parliament.
The MMD is fielding their provincial chairperson Alfred Malama Kapolyo, UPND has Rosemary Mwiche, UNIP has Charles Mwelwa and FDD has Alfred Mwape.
Labels: JOHN PHIRI, LUAPULA PROVINCE, MICHAEL SATA, PROSTITUTION
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Private tuition in public schools
By Editor
Wed 10 July 2013, 14:00 CAT
LAST week education minister Dr John Phiri banned private tuitions in public schools. This practice had gotten out of control and was starting to affect the normal school work of teachers.
Private tuition is a practice where teachers teach their pupils after the normal school hours and get paid for that. This practice has become common in many schools in our country.
And teachers put in their best in these private tuitions than they do in their normal school working hours. They have to put in their best in private tuition because they have to be accountable to their customers who happen to be their pupils and their parents. The pupils are paying the teachers directly. In this way, the pupils have become the direct employers of their teachers as opposed to the normal working hours under which the teachers are answerable to someone very far away in the government.
If our teachers were putting in a similar quality of work in their normal working hours, no child under normal circumstances would need extra tuition. Somehow, the teachers don't seem to be giving their pupils their best during the normal teaching hours. Otherwise, there would be no need for extra private tuition. What is happening now is that the teachers are being rewarded with extra income from private tuition necessitated by their own inefficiency. It is not fair for anyone to be paid extra money for doing what appears to be extra work when in fact it is work that should have been done during the normal or scheduled working hours.
This is not different from the over-time that people create for themselves through inefficiency. Many organisations have stopped allowing over-time because people stopped working efficiently during the normal working hours, leaving a lot of work to be done under over-time. Teachers are creating over-time for themselves through inefficiency. The pupils who can afford to pay for this extra tuition enjoy it because they get better attention and it helps them improve their performance in examinations. But is this the way teachers should teach?
We are encouraging wrong practices by tolerating inefficiency during normal teaching hours. Private tuition should be made unnecessary. But we don't believe banning it is a solution. No matter how much the authorities outlaw private tuition, this practice will continue everywhere as long as there is demand for it. The best way to deal with private tuition is to attack it at its source. What is it that is causing the need or the demand for private tuition? If that is identified and eliminated, the need or demand for extra tuition will also disappear. Banning extra tuition does not automatically end demand for it. Ways will be found to continue this extra tuition in one way or another as long as there is demand for it.
In our view, improving efficiency in the classroom is the only sure way of eradicating the need or demand for extra tuition. And this starts with the sizes of classes. We shouldn't have classes that are too big. A teacher can only teach a certain number of pupils in a class and beyond that things start to fall apart, creating the need or demand for extra private tuition.
There will also be need to improve the supervision of teachers. In many schools, there is no supervision, no inspection of how the teacher is teaching and so on and so forth.
Of course, there is need to look at the remuneration of teachers. But when it comes to matters of money, we must be very careful because money is never enough. And sometimes no matter how much one is paid, the thirsty for more and more money is never quenched - the more they get, the more they want.
But we appreciate the government's desperation in the face of the injustice being done to pupils from poor households that cannot afford to pay for extra tuition. They are being disadvantaged in the competition for the limited school places in the upward movement. They are also being disadvantaged in class because they are made to feel they are very much behind. And this can have a devastating effect on their levels of confidence. So, the banning order on private tuition is a welcome move, but things shouldn't be left at that. This is so because banning private tuition, on its own, will not improve things because it will not on its own eradicate the deficiencies in our school system that gave rise to the demand for private tuition in our public schools.
In fact, a teacher whose pupils are not doing well should be made to give them extra tuition for free. And where the authorities feel there is a legitimate need for extra tuition, this should be extended to all pupils and paid for, in the normal way, by the school authorities. In this way, no one will be left behind, no one will be disadvantaged and everyone will benefit.
Labels: JOHN PHIRI
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Zambia to attend Cape Town Technology Summit
By Joseph Mwenda
Thu 26 July 2012, 12:30 CAT
Minister of Education Dr. John Phiri will be leading a delegation of Zambian officials to attend a summit in Cape Town, South Africa this coming October to deliver a keynote speech and meet with potential foreign investors in the technology and education sectors.
Dr. Phiri will be joining other African Ministers of Education and Technology from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Others will be from Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, and Rwanda.
The Summit will represent an opportunity for Dr. Phiri to present his ministry's progress on policies and implementation after one year in office before an international audience.
"We're extraordinarily pleased to have the participation of Dr. Phiri, as Zambia is increasingly seen as a model for its stability, growth, and improvements in education," said John Glassey, the managing director of AfricanBrains, the organizer of the Innovation Africa Summit.
Glassey also noted that investors are eager to meet with the new Zambian minister, as some people felt that the previous MMD government was unresponsive to their interest.
"There is significant interest among foreign investors to become involved in Zambia's education sector. People are excited to begin working with the Patriotic Front government, which will hopefully be more successful than past experience," Glassey said.
The Innovation Africa Summit, scheduled for October 5-7 in Cape Town, is co-sponsored by the niversity of the Western Cape, and will also feature participation by representatives of global technology companies, such as Huawei, Samsung, Hewlett Packard, and others.
Labels: JOHN PHIRI, SUMMIT
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Workers, loan sharks and micro-lenders
By The Post
Fri 13 July 2012, 10:20 CAT
The revelation by Dr John Phiri, the Minister of Education, that over 77,000 public school teachers are shackled in debt they owe micro-finance institutions is frightening.
But they are not the only ones. Most of our working people are in a similar situation. They are in debt not only with so many micro-finance companies but also with banks, shops and other suppliers of all sorts of things.
And come pay day, they are left with nothing, they can hardly buy a bag of mealie-meal. So they have to go back to borrowing. It is not borrowing for investment; it is borrowing for consumption. Everything they have is obtained on credit.
The house they claim to own is on mortgage; the car they drive, there is a loan behind it. Sometimes even the clothes they wear are from borrowings or are purchased on credit from suppliers.
Some of our workers have consumed their salaries 20 to 30 years in advance. And this being the situation, where is their future? What happens to their families if they dropped dead today?
It is good that our Minister of Education sees this as a big problem, a gigantic challenge affecting the plight of our workers and one that demands urgent intervention. But urgent intervention by who?
This is an issue that calls for strong leadership from Dr Phiri and his colleagues in government to reform our whole system of credit and debt in the country.
This problem has not been dealt with properly over the last 20 years. Now is the time to make sure that the interests of the ordinary Zambian workers come first, not last.
For too long, our people have suffered because government policy and laws have favoured business interest above the interests of the working people.
In this country, the poor pay more interest on the little money they borrow than that paid by the rich people. Ours is a financial system that rewards the rich and punishes the poor. It is a system that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer.
Rich people can borrow from banks to start businesses, get loans for houses and cars, get credit cards, buy clothes, shoes, everything on credit and pay back from their earnings at rates they can afford. Poor people struggle to get meaningful loans from banks; they must use the money for food, school fees, transport and for emergencies like funerals.
They have to borrow from the so-called micro-lenders, the loan sharks who charge the most interests. It is not unusual for these micro-lenders to charge up to over 40 per cent or even over 60 per cent interest on small loans to poor people, workers and pensioners.
This is not in order. This is wrong.
This is shameful. This is exploitation of the workers and the poor. It is time for change. This exploitation must end.
We should not accept a system where loan sharks masquerading as responsible micro-lenders or banks steal what little our workers and the poor have in high interest charges.
The government needs to move in and set some limits on interest charges to the poor and bring it to the same level as the interest that the rich pay. This situation demands that the government acts quickly to deal with this issue. And we call on the working people, the people most exploited by loan sharks, micro-lenders and banks, to demand their own redemption.
There is need to transform our financial sector so that it meets the needs of all our people.
Transformation of important sectors of our economy is of just as much interest and importance to all workers, the users or buyers of goods and services as to the banks, the providers or suppliers of goods and services or the regulators, the government and its agencies. This is something that some in the financial sector seem to have difficulty learning.
And the trade unions need to come in. They are answerable to the workers whose interests they represent. It is therefore right to call upon the workers as a whole, and organised workers in particular, to strengthen their formations, flex their muscles.
There is need for our trade unions, our labour movement to get more involved in economic issues and policies affecting our country's economic growth and development. Workers must control their financial resources, including pension. It is time that the unilateral control and investment decision over workers' funds by the financial institutions was challenged.
A united working class must break the seemingly arrogant culture of entitlement by business to want to use workers' monies as it deems fit. And this must be located within the broader goal of deepening workers' unity in our country, and earnestly work towards the goal of returning to one country, one trade union federation.
There is increasingly more that unites the working class than divides it, including the common challenge of unemployment, retrenchments, poverty. It is only a united working class that is the social force best capable of taking our country out of a current crisis of unemployment and poverty, and lead our society towards a better life for all.
In order for this government of Michael Sata and the PF to address and effectively respond to the electoral mandate of the workers and the poor, as well as the challenge of joblessness and poverty, it is absolutely critical that they place workers' interests at the centre of transformation of our society.
In this respect, concerted effort is required if the PF government is to address poverty and joblessness. We cannot address unemployment in our country unless it is from a consistently workers' perspective and from the standpoint of its political interests.
Any approach to this problem outside the worker and the poor's perspective will not succeed.
In the light of the current high unemployment levels, one cannot fail to admit that private capital in this country has not played a meaningful role in the overall economic development of our country.
As a country, we have made more progress in those areas where government and the donors have taken a lead. Where matters have been left to the private sector, to international private capital, we have seen retrenchments and low job creation.
Therefore, there is need for the government to take a keen interest and play an active role in ensuring that all sectors of our economy are making progress and are doing so without leaving the workers and the poor behind.
Of course, we know that private capital, especially the foreign one, doesn't care about people's needs but solely about their profits! And as for our labour movement, it is important for it to realise that these are matters that should not be left to the government alone - they have an important role to play.
Labels: DEBT, JOHN PHIRI, MICRO-FINANCE, MILES SAMPA, TEACHERS
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Teachers shackled in debt - Phiri
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Fri 13 July 2012, 14:00 CAT
MOST Public school teachers in the country are shackled in debt they owe micro-finance institutions, reveals education minister Dr John Phiri. And finance deputy minister Miles Sampa says huge debts distract workers and make them less productive.
Officially closing the launch of the national strategy on financial education for Zambia, Dr Phiri said the heavy indebtedness of the teachers in the country deserves urgent intervention.
He said the government had a huge challenge of freeing the teachers from their indebtedness.
Dr Phiri said the levels of financial literacy among teachers in the country were very low, and that there was need to build a future that will be financially literate.
"We have in the ministry the largest number of civil servants who are called teachers - 77,000 plus, scattered all over the country who may greatly benefit from this arrangement," said Dr Phiri. "Today, the plight of the teacher like many civil servants I guess is that their names are in every micro-finance institutions.
The payslip just confirms that 'yes, you have used your money, and here is the other K200,000 you left behind'. So, the scenario demands urgent intervention and that intervention will go a long way."
And Sampa said the proliferation of easy money for workers to borrow was recipe for under-performance among workers.
He said there was need for the government and private sector employers in the country to find a way of limiting workers' exposure to unnecessary credit.
Sampa advocated for increased financial education of the workers in the country.
"Employees who are financially educated are less likely to get into the financial difficulties which can distract them at work and thus make them less productive," said Sampa.
"It's not unusual to see workers zoom out of the offices to go and seek for kaloba somewhere because they are in financial difficulties, but all they are doing is just making their problems even worse and worse. If they are fully informed and educated, they will find other better alternatives to resolve their problems."
Labels: DEBT, JOHN PHIRI, MILES SAMPA, TEACHERS
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Poor reading skills affecting performance of learners, says Phiri
By Henry Sinyangwe, Simeon Gboun, Kondwani Munyeka and Mukosha
Thu 14 June 2012, 13:24 CAT
EDUCATION minister Dr John Phiri says the low performance levels of learners across the country is alarming and needs urgent attention.
Speaking during the joint annual review meeting for the education sector stakeholders dubbed 'Understanding quality for improved learner performance' in Lusaka on Tuesday, Dr Phiri (right) said one of the critical challenges the country faces was the poor reading skills among learners.
"Children in early grades are lagging behind in terms of reading. This problem persists in both urban and rural areas. It is sad that some children in the early grades fail to even write their names and that of their school," Dr Phiri said.
He said education was the hub and driver of every nation's developmental agenda hence should be taken seriously.
"Education should be deemed as a means for enhancing the well-being and quality of life for the entire society. Therefore, the government will seek to create, promote and support the conditions within which quality education, reflected through learner performance, can realise its potential in society," Dr Phiri said.
He said his ministry had developed the National Implementation Framework (NIF III) in order to implement the programmes in the education and skills development sector.
Dr Phiri said the government had made strides in expanding the provision of access to education at all levels.
"However, these efforts have not really translated into improved quality of education delivery in terms of learning achievements and I implore this august house to deliberate on these reasons why, as I do not want to influence your discussions," he said.
And Ireland's Ambassador to Zambia, Tony Cotter welcomed the government's commitment to increased support to the education sector in recognition of its significance in national development.
He said it was saddening that the quality of education children were currently receiving did not sufficiently prepare them for life outside school.
''Far too many children are progressing through the education system with little competency in literacy and numeracy. This severely limits their performance throughout the education cycle and affects them up to college and university," said Ambassador Cotter.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and Microsoft have signed a 1-year Memorandum of Understanding that seeks to improve access to ICT for improved teaching and learning in Zambian schools.
Speaking at the signing ceremony at Bauleni Basic School, Microsoft regional commercial director East and Southern Africa, Vincent Wagoneka, said high-quality education was a fundamental component of the social and economic prosperity of any community.
Through this partnership both organisations will seek to improve adoption and use of technology in schools as a teaching and learning tool.
"Technology is now becoming a driving force behind numerous aspects of national development and hence the need for governments to embrace it," Wagoneka said.
He said computer skills were a basic requirement in almost all careers hence the need to modernise classrooms and inspire teachers as well as students to use ICT.
Wagoneka said Microsoft was creating partnerships worldwide across the public and private sectors to build innovative educational experiences that removed limitations and create opportunities for pupils and teachers.
And Dr Phiri said the power of technology, software and partnerships combined with great teaching and learning could be instrumental in creating innovative schools in Zambia.
He said his ministry would seek to use development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the delivery of education and training.
And ZICTA director general Margaret Chalwe said the MOU was part of the ongoing establishment of the computer laboratories countrywide in all schools.
"We supply schools with computers, printers, projectors and also offer training to the teachers and administration staff as well as internet connectivity to ensure that schools are not left behind," she said.
Labels: EDUCATION, JOHN PHIRI
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Government, CBU agree on 15% increase in tuition fees for 1st-year students
By Allan Mulenga
Fri 06 Apr. 2012, 13:53 CAT
THE government and Copperbelt University management have agreed on a 15 per cent increase in tuition fees for first-year students from the initial 25 per cent approved in 2008.
And the government is in the process of introducing the Student Loan Authority to cover the cost of students' education. Education minister Dr John Phiri yesterday said his ministry and CBU management agreed that the 25 per cent increase in first-year tuition fees be spread over two years - 15 per cent this year and 10 per cent next year.
"The ministry has noted that the fees for first year´s will disadvantage the already disadvantaged to enter Copperbelt University.
The Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education will source financing to bridge the budgetary gap which will be created at the Copperbelt University as a result of the reduction in the rate of increase of tuition fees," he said.
"…There have been concerns raised over this…These concerns have come from Copperbelt University Students and the Copperbelt community in general. The fees have reached to some K14,000,000 and K18,000,000 for Social Science and Natural Science programmes, respectively. This is far above what the majority of our people can afford."
The 15 per cent increase in fees this year means Social Science students will now pay K12.8 million instead of K14 million while Natural Science students will pay K16.9 million from the initial K18.4 million.
In 2013, another 10 per cent increment will be effected on first-year students.
There was public outcry over the proposed 25 per cent increase in tuition fees, with students warning that they would boycott classes if management went ahead to effect the increment.
But CBU management said the 25 per cent increment was approved in 2008 after consultation with the government as a solution to many financial problems the institution was facing.
And Dr Phiri said the ministry was working on a draft bill for the establishment of the Student Loan Authority which would be presented to Parliament for enactment into law.
"The ministry also recognises that the only solution to the funding of public universities is through a non-discriminatory organ which will manage a loans scheme for students. The Student Loan Authority will enable students who are admitted to higher education institutions to access loans to cover the cost of their education," said Dr Phiri.
"This will be part of the overall efforts that the ministry will be undertaking to ensure that our higher education system is positioned to respond to the development needs of our country, and to ensure that science, technology and innovation provide a basis for finding solutions to those issues which hinder our efforts towards social and economic development."
Labels: CBU, JOHN PHIRI
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Science, maths critical for development - JICA
By Hope Chali
Thu 22 Mar. 2012, 12:57 CAT
JICA Resident representative Shiro Nabeya says science and mathematics are critical subjects for any country's socio-economic development and poverty reduction.
Speaking when he handed over nine vehicles donated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to the Ministry of Education on Tuesday, Nabeya said the belief that science and mathematics were critical for development and poverty reduction came from his country's historical experience of development.
The nine vehicles were meant for the Strengthening Teachers' Performance and Skills (STEPS) programme which was initiated last October.
"Japan's support to Zambia in strengthening the teaching and learning of science and mathematics is intended to contribute to addressing the challenges of the effective teaching and learning of these subjects in Zambian schools," said Nabeya.
Education minister Dr John Phiri said the main thrust of the project would be to address issues of quality with particular emphasis on capacity building of grade eight to 12 science and mathematics teachers.
Dr Phiri said the project would also build capacity of resource persons such as headteachers, teacher educators and other key ministry human resources.
The vehicles were distributed to six provincial education officers while the directorate of education was given three vehicles.
Labels: EDUCATION, JICA, JOHN PHIRI, MATHEMATICS
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Prioritise university education
By The Post
Mon 20 Feb. 2012, 12:00 CAT
EDUCATION is a vital component of any society, but especially of a developing one. As Thomas Jefferson once wrote: "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was and never shall be." A nation which values its future affords the highest priority to providing good or quality education for its young people.
Good education is the beginning of wealth. Good education is the beginning of health. Good education is the beginning of spirituality. Good education is where the miracle process all begins. It is said that if someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is good education to turn him around.
Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is poverty. Ignorance is devastation. Ignorance is tragedy. Ignorance is illness. Ignorance is backwardness. Ignorance is under-development. It all stems from ignorance.
In trying to transform our backward country into a prosperous one, we are confronted with arduous tasks and our experience is far from adequate. This demands good education and we must be good at learning. Conditions are changing all the time, and to adapt our thinking to the new conditions, we need good education.
We need to learn from others. And the lessons learnt by Dr John Phiri, our Minister of Education and a former lecturer at the University of Zambia, from interactions with colleagues from Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua need to be put to good use.
We must learn to apply what we have learnt from others so that we can attract all that we want. Let the views of others educate and inform us, but of course in the end, let our decisions be a product of our own conclusions. There is certainly a lot to learn from our Latin American brothers and sisters.
They are trying very hard to transform their countries after many years of reversals and failures due to poor leadership and inappropriate policies. We need to strengthen our ties with Latin America. For many years, we have been looking to Europe but we are still poor and under-developed.
We have more in common with Latin America and there should be much more that unites us with them than with Europe. The quality of political leadership in Latin America has improved a lot over the last 10 to 15 years. Today we have a leadership on that continent that is heart and soul committed to improving the living conditions and dignity of its people.
And this is also a leadership that pays a lot of attention to internationalism and solidarity with the suffering and struggling peoples of this world. Let us increase our cooperation with the peoples of Latin America. Even Brazilians who have an embassy here, we don't seem to be doing much with them when much more can be done with them.
Cuba is one of the leading countries in the world in the area of education. And it's a country that has always been willing to share its experiences, its knowledge with others; a country whose leadership and people seems to believe that the highest level of political thought was reached when some men and women became aware that no people and no man or woman had the right to exploit others, and that the fruits of the efforts and intelligence of each human being should reach all others.
Education is a major factor for social change. We think it is important that our universities are made to accept their role as active agents of national integration and social justice. We will not have development for all until we have integral education for all.
Our universities should be awakening unawareness that the whole nation benefits from their services, and that the whole nation should therefore join in providing the resources they need to carry out their task. Our universities must participate in the transformation of present-day society and in the wake of bettering the human condition.
Our universities should commit themselves in working with the rest of the nation in their concern for societal problems. They have a vital role to play in the overall project of changing our society.
We must not forget that a lack of quality education lies at the base of the unjust social structures in our country.
We share the observations made by Dr Phiri that the Zambian university system has failed the nation and it is clear that the curriculum of our universities need to be reviewed so that they can support sustainable development.
Truly, "we need to review the curriculum at all levels so that learners are better prepared for the challenges Zambia faces; there is need to realign universities so that they meet the demands or needs of our people and that they stay with the people if sustainable development is to be realised". To educate for development is to impart those criteria without which that development becomes a chimera, if not a dangerous deception.
We think our nation should work so that our people are enriched culturally, intellectually and technically, without restrictions on this process. So that if everyone wants the honour of having a good university degree, then everyone should have the chance to get one; without, of course, this implying that if everyone has a university degree, then everyone is going to have a job that corresponds to that degree.
But this is a problem that has to be solved by creating facilities for study, and, of course, in the knowledge that having a degree will not automatically guarantee a job that corresponds to that degree. However, we need to channel our university programmes towards the basic careers in which there is a greater need at the present time in Zambia.
As Dr Phiri has correctly observed, Zambia can certainly learn a lot from Cuba, Venezuela and other Latin American countries on how to extend university education and make it popular to enable our universities to serve our people better. Let us afford the highest priority to providing quality education for all our young people.
This is the only way we will see a reversal of fortunes.
Labels: EDUCATION, JOHN PHIRI, UNIVERSITIES
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The university system has failed the nation - Phiri
By Larry Moonze in Havana, Cuba
Mon 20 Feb. 2012, 11:59 CAT
EDUCATION minister John Phiri says the Zambian university system has failed the nation. Phiri also said Zambia needs to make follow-ups with Cuba on literacy campaign, the Venezuelan offer to expand secondary and tertiary education, Cuban Communist Party and Patriotic Front party ties and collaboration between Zambian universities and those in Southern Africa, including Cuba.
In an interview on Saturday on the outcome of his trip to Cuba where he attended the University Congress, including meeting Cuban education and foreign ministers, Phiri said it was clear the Zambian university curriculum needed to be reviewed so that it supports sustainable development.
"We need to review the curriculum at all levels so that learners are better prepared for the challenges Zambia faces," he said.
"There is need to realign universities so that they meet the demands or needs of our people and that they stay with the people if sustainable development is to be realized. From the congress, I concluded that our universities answer the demands of the capitalist world rather than the people who are looking for solutions for poverty, hunger, HIV and AIDS, malaria, TB and underdevelopment. The university has failed our people."
Phiri also said there was need for government commitment and funding.
He said over the years in a bid to attain the Millennium Development Goal on universal primary education, Zambia neglected the secondary and tertiary education system. Phiri said Zambia today had 90,000 primary schools against 644 secondary schools and two public universities.
"That system has presented a monster problem for us," he said.
Phiri said there was equally no investment in technical and vocational training for the thousands the school system could not absorb.
He said failure to fund those institutions and beefing human resource had caused a gross problem.
However, Phiri also asked lecturers and students to change the mindset because in other countries, for instance Cuba, which also offered scholarships to thousands foreign students, finances were humble compared to results from those universities.
"Certainly Zambia can learn a lot from Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua," he said. "We listened to a presentation on popular education and university extension… so our university must wake up and serve our people and not feed on imperialist curriculum."
Phiri said he also met Communist Party of Cuba director of international relations to whom he conveyed PF leader Michael Sata and Secretary General Wynter Kabimba's message on establishing close working ties.
"The request was positively accepted and the Cuban Communist Party will be waiting for the PF delegation to cement these party-to-party ties," said Phiri.
"The PF is only 10 years old. We are still looking for ideological basis to anchor our programmes… The PF is a people's party and we have more to learn from parties like the Cuban Communist Party for us to deliver better to our people. Where a party carries along aspirations of the people and where the party moves with the people as a united front, all things are possible. That is the biggest thing I have learnt in Cuba. Cuba has no minerals or anything of that kind and look how it has defied the big brother across US at great cost of course. Cuba is a shining example. The PF can enrich the Cuban experience and vice-versa."
Labels: EDUCATION, JOHN PHIRI, UNIVERSITIES
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Government commits to prioritising science and technology
By Brina Manenga
Mon 14 Nov. 2011, 14:00 CAT
EDUCATION minister Dr John Phiri says prioritisation of science and technology is essential for the country's social and economic development. Speaking at the 9th National Science and Technology forum on Friday, Dr Phiri said the PF government was in a hurry and committed to finding a solution to the social and economic challenges facing the country.
"Chemists will inevitably play a key role in overcoming the challenges facing the world today, for example, in helping address the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). A deep understanding of science is essential for developing molecular medicine, for creating new materials and sustainable sources of food and energy," Dr Phiri said.
He said the government's commitment to prioritising science and technology was evident in the funding of various scientific and technological institutions.
Dr Phiri however said his ministry was hoping to see tangible results for improvement of people's lives from the funded institutions.
He encouraged the science community to carry out relevant research and innovations that would help resolve the many socio-economic challenges facing Zambia.
Dr Phiri said there was need for science and technology to be fostered in school if the sector was to be sustained.
"The picture in schools regarding science and technology is pathetic. There are no laboratories while other laboratories have been turned into classrooms. This is something that needs to change. And my government will work hard to ensure that this issue is dealt with," said Dr Phiri.
Labels: EDUCATION, JOHN PHIRI, MINISTRY OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING
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Workers urge govt to overhaul ZIBSIP
By Mwila Chansa-Ntambi
Thu 20 Oct. 2011, 08:20 CAT
ZAMBIA Institute of Business and Industrial Practice (ZIBSIP) workers have urged the government to overhaul management at the institution because it has failed to deliver. The workers who sought anonymity alleged that a lot of things were going wrong at the learning institution because most people holding senior management positions were ill-qualified for the jobs. The workers complained that most of them, especially lecturers, were demoralised.
"The major issue is that people have failed to manage the institution that is number one. They have failed to manage the institution because they seem to do things just at random. They have no management skills and that is why students were protesting because they also cited the same," one of the workers said.
Another worker said management had been terminating the contracts of outspoken union leaders thereby promoting a culture of fear and intimidation amongst unionised workers.
The workers also complained that they were not privy to management officials' salaries and that this made it difficult for the union to bargain for better perks.
"For instance, when you go to negotiate you realise that we don't know their salaries and then they tell us, look we have to put a certain smaller per cent because it applies to all of us. But you see, 10 per cent of K10 million is K1 million, 10 per cent of K1 million is only K100,000," the worker said.
The workers appealed to education minister Dr John Phiri to take keen interest in the affairs of the institution and intervene to restore confidence among lecturers and other workers.
Last week, ZIBSIP students protested against, among other issues, management's failure to run the institution and poor sanitation and learning environment.
They were also demanding a reduction in the boarding fees following management's decision to introduce self-catering with effect from next year.
Labels: EDUCATION, JOHN PHIRI
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Phiri refutes describing Sata as illogical
By Bright Mukwasa
Wed 14 Sep. 2011, 13:59 CAT
ZAMBIA'S education system has been paralysed since the MMD took over power, says PF chairman for education Dr John Phiri. And Dr Phiri is demanding a retraction from the Sunday Mail over comments attributed to him as having said PF leader Michael Sata is illogical and that he fails to make sense in most of his discussions due to his ill education.
Dr Phiri featured at a Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) public forum for political parties participating in this month's elections to discuss their parties' education manifestoes.
"The education sector is completely paralysed. Time has come for us to have a re-look at the education system in this country from early childhood education, primary, secondary and tertiary education, if we are going to liberate our young people," Dr Phiri said.
"We should also look at the language policy. In my view one of the contributing factors is language, where we have despised our own language and admire those who speak English. The more articulate one is in English...is being misrepresented to mean that that person is intelligent and that's the mistake we made when we elected late president Chiluba."
Dr Phiri said English should not be the standard when evaluating an individual.
He also dismissed Sunday Mail's article attributed to him, castigating Sata.
"I was surprised that the Sunday Mail says I said he's Sata illogical and fails to make sense in most of his discussions. Far from the truth. I never (said that), how would I? Am I mad to go to a forum to castigate my own president? If it is the weapon they want to use to divide me, then they are mistaken because I am 100 per cent PF," said Dr Phiri.
He accused Sunday Mail of attempting to alienate him from Sata and that his allegiance was unshakable.
"I went to Sunday Mail and did not find anybody useful there. I am going to Sunday Mail and probably with my lawyer Mr. Wynter Kabimba tomorrow for them to retract this or else we go to court."
Labels: EDUCATION, JOHN PHIRI, MICHAEL SATA, WYNTER KABIMBA
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‘Repair the damage you have done to the youths’
By Editor
Mon 11 Jan. 2010, 04:00 CAT [117 Reads,
A lot of damage has been done to our young people.
As John Phiri, the executive director of Global Justice Zambia, has correctly observed, instead of attracting our young people to high heights, our politicians have dragged them to very low depths.
What they are being told or shown is a society of wolves where greed and vanity is the order of the day. What they are being shown every day is the culture and practice of nchekelako. In everything they do, our young people have been taught to look for what is their cut in it. Public service, selfless service to humanity is not something that is being emphasised to our young people.
We are not teaching them that money is not everything; that there is something more powerful than money, and that is consciousness. Those who have put money to be everything have little patriotism because by nature they have no country. Their country is where they make the most money, they go where they earn more.
Of course, we would like our young people to be internationalists, but without ceasing to be patriots. They should be taught to fulfil their internationalist duty, their duty to humanity wherever necessary, and they should also fulfil their duty toward their own people. Life - we mean meaningful life - is not simply about the self or about 'what's my cut, nchekelako'. That's the kind of young people we want to bring up in our country. Our young people must undertake this mission, they have an opportunity to form people like that and with that kind of consciousness. This lust for gain that we are inculcating in our young people is very dangerous.
We are destroying or damaging our young people. We need to start teaching our young people the need for them to work for the establishment of a more just, fair and humane society full of love and solidarity. We should teach them to start feeling on their own bodies, in their own hearts the injustices committed against others. We should teach them to tremble with indignation whenever and wherever an injustice is committed against anyone.
We are concerned about the issues that have been raised by Phiri because there is a sort of chain of events here. For if good ideas foster other good ideas, bad things can foster, on the other hand, other bad things.
We must search for more just, fair and humane formulas to solve our problems, because before we realise it, formulas full of greed and vanity used out of expedience may corrupt us, contaminate our consciousness. Virtue must be nourished but vice springs up spontaneously like weeds and grows by itself. We must bear that in mind. If we do otherwise, while nourishing virtue, we are simultaneously paving the way for vice. That's the reality we must not lose sight of.
We could say that there is one task more important than all others for our politicians, and that is their work in developing a more humane consciousness among our young people. And that is something vital, absolutely vital, of decisive importance. Mass training of our young people in such principles - the principles of justice, fairness, humaneness, solidarity - requires systematic work.
This is very important because all over the world, it is young people who are actually involving themselves in the struggle to eliminate injustice, unfairness and the degradation of human beings. They are the ones who most quickly identify with the struggle and the necessity to eliminate the unfair, unjust and inhuman conditions that exist.
As Phiri has pointed out, it is not fair to teach our young people to be irresponsible and reward them for engaging in political violence and hooliganism on behalf of our politicians.
Our young people are increasingly being told how to hate, and not how to love their neighbour who may belong to a different political party, religion or tribe. And when the time comes they are intoxicated with alcohol and used in violent political acts. That's all they teach our young people and use them in. We don't favour violence. Everybody should be encouraged to reach their objectives peacefully. But it's difficult to teach only one group non-violence if their opponents, politically or otherwise, are not being taught by anyone to be non-violent.
There is also the issue of ignorance and greed. If all our young people were properly educated - by properly educated, we mean given a true picture of every human being and their worth - we think many of our young people would refuse to be used in violent schemes against their neighbours, they would be more tolerant of others. If this is done their intolerance would be at least partially negated. Also, their feelings of who they are in relation to others would be replaced by a balanced knowledge of themselves. They would feel more like human beings, in a society of human beings.
So it takes education to eliminate all these things. And just because we have colleges and universities doesn't mean we have education because these can skilfully be used to miseducate. Some of the politicians behind the violence we see every day are very highly educated.
Let us teach our young people to be better human beings and citizens of their country. But the problem is most of our politicians are not good human beings and good citizens themselves and as such they cannot teach others what they themselves don't know, don't practice. And all their talk about peace and this and that is nothing but political rhetoric and petty words. We say this because the same politicians can be talking about peace, stability and love in the morning but in the evening they are plotting violence and mobilising young people to go and attack their political opponents.
It is not possible for these politicians to call our young people to virtues which they themselves do not make an effort to practice. And for this reason we need our politicians to respect themselves and to be exemplary in their daily lives. The appeal for fairness, justice, peace and non-violence should also be extended to them because they are the worst culprits.
As for our young people, one of the first things we think they should learn how to do is to see things for themselves, listen for themselves and think for themselves. Then they can come to intelligent decisions for themselves. They shouldn't run away and try to make themselves the servants of those who are depriving them of their humanity. They are their enemies and they should fight them and in the end they will get their humanity back.
This country is theirs, as well as ours, but in the last analysis, it is theirs, it belongs to the young people. And our hope for the future of our country should accordingly be placed in them because the world belongs to them; Zambia's future belongs to them. That's why we must constantly carry on lively and effective political education among our young people and should always tell them the truth about the difficulties that crop up and discuss with them how to surmount these difficulties.
Our young people are the most active and vital force of our nation. They are the most eager to learn and the least conservative in their thinking. This is especially so in the era of democracy. We hope all our politicians will help and work with our young people and go into the question of bringing into full play their energy.
Zambia must care for her young people and show concern for the growth of the younger generation. Full attention must be paid to everything they do. We must work unceasingly to lift this nation to a higher destiny, to a new plateau of fairness, justice, humaneness and compassion.
Our people seek their development and progress and their growth in humanity, through the incorporation and participation of everyone. For this reason, no sector should reserve to itself exclusively the carrying out of political, cultural, economic or spiritual matters.
Those who possess the power of decision-making must exercise it in communion with the desires and options of the whole community, of the whole nation. In order that this integration responds to the nature of all our people, it must incorporate the values that are appropriate to all and everyone, without exception.
In saying all this, we count upon elements and criteria that are profoundly human and essentially Christian, an innate sense of the dignity of all, a predilection for fraternity and hospitality, a recognition of young people and their irreplaceable function in the society, a wise sense of life and death.
Our young people constitute the most numerous group in the population of our country and show themselves to be a new social body with their own ideas and values desiring to create a more just, fair and humane society. The youthful presence is a positive contribution that must be incorporated into society.
We must involve the young people themselves in shaping their own destiny, the destiny of their country. A nation which values its future affords the highest priority to providing all its young people with opportunities for participating in the running of the affairs of their country. And this participation is not about intoxicating young people with Chibuku and tujilijili and then unleashing them on violent missions against political opponents.
We agree with Phiri about the need for our politicians to urgently start repairing the damage they have done to our young people. They have not been the light that our young people need to see in them, but the darkness that has blinded their vision. This needs to be urgently changed or the future of our country is doomed.
Labels: JOHN PHIRI, YOUTHS
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