Govt hires 1500 teachers

GOVERNMENT has recruited nearly 1 500 teachers, the first batch out of the 10 000 it intends to recruit.

In a notice yesterday listing those who have been recruited by the Public Service Commission, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education said the teachers are required to report at district offices as soon as possible for deployment.

A total of 1 464 teachers are being deployed in the country's eight provinces, Bulawayo and Harare excluded.

The teachers are spread among infant, primary, secondary and Advanced levels.

Matabeleland North got 250 new teachers; Matabeleland South, 152; Midlands, 100; Mashonaland Central, 373; Mashonaland East, 210; Mashonaland West, 90; Masvingo, 115 and Manicaland 194.

Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education communication and advocacy director Mr Taungana Ndoro yesterday said the recruited teachers are filling vacant posts that arose in the sector through attrition.

Last month Government suspended some teachers for three months without pay as they had not been reporting for duty since schools reopened on February 7.

Mr Ndoro said there was no teacher that has been fired for not reporting for work as disciplinary proceedings are still underway.

"These are attrition posts and if there was a vacancy for a science teacher then it was filled. No one has been fired yet as disciplinary procedures are still on," he said.

Last month, Government announced plans to recruit 10 000 teachers.
Statistics last year indicated that there were more than 4,6 million learners in Zimbabwe and nearly 140 000 teachers.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education requires at least 40 000 more teachers to address the critical manpower deficit in the education sector, with science subjects and early childhood development (ECD) classes being the worst affected.

The Government revised upwards the number of teachers that are required as a result of the need for social distancing in schools following the outbreak of Covid-19.