IT is a shame that at a time when Zambians are trying to build a united nation in which one’s tribe is not a factor, there are some individuals who do not want to accept people from other regions to work in their areas based on tribe.
This is an affront on the collective wisdom of Zambians who believe that they are one people oblivious of which region one hails from.
We are saddened over the recent disclosure that some chiefs and government officials have been threatening newly recruited teachers based on tribe and regionalism.
In their myopic thinking, only those who hail from their areas should be hired to work as teachers after the government’s countrywide recruitment of teachers.
According to National Union for Private and Public Educators in Zambia (NUPPEZ) Victor Muyumbwa, the rampant tribalism being practiced has left some of the recruited teachers living in fear.
Mr Muyumbwa, did not name specific areas involved. But even then, it is important that the government takes note of the union’s concern.
Mr Muyumbwa said it was unfortunate that innocent people were being subjected to a hostile environment when they were in the areas only to offer a serve to the public.
We agree with Mr Muyumbwa that the situation was devastating for the young professionals and it needed to be addressed to guarantee their safety.
If anything, no Zambians should be discriminated against on account of tribe. As long as one is a Zambian, that should be enough to qualify for employment in addition to other qualifications.
These are young people who have been hired by the Ministry of Education and are eager to make their contribution to the nation’s growth through the educational sector.
They do not mind that they have been posted to rural-based schools and in areas lacking social amenities taken for granted in urban centres.
It is public knowledge that schools, particularly in rural areas have a shortage of teachers and the only way to improve their staffing levels are recruiting those who are qualified from other parts of the country.
Moreover, the government has clarified that the latest recruitment programme was looking for teachers in specialist subjects which rural and other small districts might find hard to fill from the local population.
Mr Muyumbwa said “The recruitment of 7, 200 teachers came with a number of complaints, we saw a number of people demonstrating in districts including the traditional leaders. To some extent, government and traditional leaders were behind those protests.
We need to speak about it, when you are a leader, a government official that may not be happy with what has happened, there should be a way of handling particular issues and not the manner in which they were being handled.
“The teachers were being threatened that if you come here and you have no village to point at don’t come here,” Mr Muyumbwa said.
For the country to develop, such people ought to be reminded that it is the collective skills of Zambians that will build the nation.
The nation must be encouraging the deployment of Zambians anywhere in the country where their expertise is needed, and those who object to this policy should be removed from their positions.
Mr Muyumbwa should therefore help the government to expose those promoting tribalism for they are the real enemies of progress.
