PS CLARIFIES TEACHER RECRUITMENT

By SIMON MUNTEMBA

THE completion of 115 stalled school projects will not affect the recruitment of 30,000 teachers, Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary Joel Kamoko has clarified.

Mr Kamoko dismissed media reports suggesting that government had changed goal posts on the recruitment of  30,000 teachers by announcing that it intended to complete the 115 stalled schools projects.

He said in an interview that the completion of 115 stalled school projects had its own budgetary allocation, different from that of the teacher recruitment exercise.

Mr Kamoko said that the recruitment of teachers would not be affected by the completion of 115 stalled school projects.

“The completion of 115 stalled school projects has nothing to do with the recruitment of 30,000 teachers. The recruitment of teachers will not be affected, it will start as scheduled,” Mr Kamoko said.

He also said government will first ensure that the teachers who have upgraded their academic qualifications to degree level get elevated to their relevant salary scales, before recruiting new teachers.

His remarks came after social media reports that the recruitment of teachers would be done only after finishing the 115 stalled education projects.

On Friday, the Ministry of Education said it would ensure about 115 stalled infrastructure projects are completed before government embarks on the teacher recruitment exercise this year.