By Pemphero Malimba:
Unemployed primary school teachers have challenged the government to honour its pledge to recruit 27,000 primary school teachers this year.
The teachers, who are from Initial Primary Teacher Education (Ipte) 14-18, have made the appeal through a letter addressed to the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, all district councils and the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC).
The letter has been signed by the group’s chairperson Cedric Kayote, its secretary Wezzi Mughogho and spokesperson Willard Jonazi.
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The teachers say the announcement of the move brought hope to thousands of qualified teachers who have waited a long time to be recruited.
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“This recruitment drive, if implemented, will be a major relief to our strained education sector which continues to suffer due to high teacher ratios and the heavy workload placed on the few teachers currently in service,” the letter reads.
The teachers have expressed concern over the government’s previous failure to honour its promises on several occasions.
“The cycle of empty talk has left thousands of trained teachers languishing in unemployment while classrooms remain overcrowded. We therefore caution the government not to use our hopes and the public’s trust as tools for political gain,” the letter says.
The group is expected to deliver its letter to the addressed government institutions in Lilongwe today.
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Recently, LGSC executive secretary Edward Talota told the local media that the commission was geared to recruit 27,000 primary school teachers by August this year.
Talota made the remarks amid promotions recently effected on at least 33,000 primary school teachers currently in service.
He said the promotions would create space for vacancies, hence the plans for the new recruitment drive.
Unemployed teachers from Ipte 14-17, who number about 13,000, have been pressing the government to absorb them into the system.
The teachers have held a number of engagements with the government, especially the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, regarding the recruitment.
Last year, ministry officials pledged the government’s commitment to recruiting the teachers by the end of 2024, although this did not come to fruition.
However, Minister of Finance Simplex Chithyola Banda revealed during the passing of the 2025- 26 financial year’s budget that the government had set aside K10 billion to recruit new civil servants in various sectors including education and health.
