By: Jackson Konatela/Ketemba Tjipepa

Nearly 70 unemployed teachers in Katima Mulilo took to the streets recently, demanding the Ministry of Education Arts and Culture to put a moratorium on all primary school teaching courses at all institutions of higher learning for five years because the market is saturated. 

The unemployed teachers also called on the ministry to build more schools across the country in the 2024/2025 financial year.

The group attributed the high number of unemployed teachers to the ministry’s ignorance and unwillingness to implement leadership that can address issues of corruption and mismanagement.

The spokesperson of unemployed teachers in Katima Mulilo, Mwiya Mwanangombe, claimed that the institutions are overproducing graduates in the fields that are already saturated and that the focus is on profit-making rather than responding to the national goal.

Thus, Mwanangombe called on the ministry of education to only produce on special levels and certain subjects at the secondary level.

“Those courses should be phased out for at least five years. We have people who have graduated 10 years ago. Some of them are already in their 30s and 40s, when are they going to enjoy their money? You want them to just work for one year and then go for retirement. Let it not be so,” stated Mwanangombe.

An unemployed teacher, Lukas Simubali, who graduated in 2021 pleaded with the government to employ them, saying that teachers in the system are tired because schools are understaffed.

“We want jobs and need jobs. The time we went for school-based studies, teachers were exhausted as they had to teach seven lessons a day. Teachers need to rest, we need to come in as well,” stated Simubali.

Zambezi Regional Education Director, Josty Kawana, received the petition and promised to hand it to the  Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture.

The group threatened to camp at all the Directorates of Education, Arts, and Culture across the country next January should the ministry not respond to their pleas within seven working days.

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