Some public secondary school teachers have been skipped in the August salaries, The Daily Times has learnt.
Authorities say the problem has come about due to transition in the payment system from Local Government to the Ministry of Education.
Teachers Union of Malawi General Secretary Charles Kumchenga said teachers who are yet to get their salaries are those that were promoted from primary to secondary after upgrading themselves.
“As you are aware, primary school teachers get their salaries from local councils. Now these teachers were promoted from primary to secondary schools, meaning that they will now be getting their salaries from the Ministry [of Education].
“However, in the process, their salaries were skipped. I have, indeed, received these reports,” Kumchenga said.
He added that he had engaged the authorities on the need to consider addressing the issue as soon as possible.
“I have contacted the authorities, who have promised to sort out the issue. However, we have pleaded with them to pay the teachers using GP 10. We would like them to be paid within the month and not that they should be paid in arrears,” he said.
Some of the teachers who confided in us said they belonged to all education divisions in the country and that the number could go up to 400.
One of the teachers, who did not mention his name, urged the authorities to address the problem immediately.
“The situation is not good because we need the money to pay bills. We cannot wait until next month to get our arrears. Where are we getting the money for rentals and other things?” queried the teacher.
When contacted, Director of Human Resource in the Ministry of Education Daniel Matimba said: “You have contacted the wrong person” before cutting off the line.
Ministry of Education spokesperson Mphatso Nkuonera asked for ample time to gather details.
Meanwhile, quality education advocate Benedicto Kondowe has described the development as unfortunate.
“This is sad because the teachers have family obligations to meet,” Kondowe said.
In February this year, government recruited and promoted 9,753 teachers as one way of motivating them.
0 Comments