By Samuel Kalimira & Isaac Salima
Thursday was World Teachers’ Day, a day set aside to celebrate the work of the educators, but the Teachers’ Union of Malawi (Tum) charges that there is nothing to rejoice about being a teacher in the country.
And Tum has warned that education standards will continue being “pathetic” apparently because very little is happening to address challenges the teachers face.
In an interview in the context of the day, Tum President Willy Malimba said teachers’ salaries in Malawi are still on the lower side compared to other countries.
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Malimba said this dispirits the educators.
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The Tum leader further said teachers in Malawi cannot celebrate their day when many of them “have overstayed on the same grade without being promoted”.
He also said the teachers cannot enjoy their work when the majority of schools do not have adequate teaching and learning materials and teach huge classes against the recommended ratio of 1:60.
“The country has about 13,000 qualified teachers who have not been employed, while the nation needs about 70,000 teachers in primary and secondary schools and teacher training colleges,” Malimba said.
Education rights activist Benedicto Kondowe concurred with Malimba that the teaching profession is no longer admirable because of the hurdles teachers face in their work.
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Kondowe said apart from housing challenges in many schools, teachers are not respected in some communities.
“Some learners insult teachers and communities join them. We can do better and support teachers for the country’s education standards to improve,” Kondowe said.
On his part, educationist Steve Sharra noted that despite that there are some gaps in teacher welfare, there has been political will to address them.
“We have seen the education sector getting a bigger share in the national budget. Using that, we can conclude that there is political will to improve the sector.
“However, the question comes when we look at it in monetary terms. How big is it to reach every corner of the country? It is the question of improving the economy to support these sectors?” Sharra said.
Ministry of Education spokesperson Mphatso Nkuonera said government notes the teachers’ concerns and that it is working at ensuring the educators provide their services in favourable environments.
