Stop stealing, teachers warned

By NATION REPORTER

IT is theft for teachers in both public and private schools to ask for extra money for pupils to write end of term tests, says Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) secretary-general Newman Bubala.

And Mr Bubala has urged the Teaching Council of Zambia (TCZ) to regulate payments of fees in private schools to avoid exploitation. Mr Bubala was reacting to revelations that some teachers at one school in Chunga Township in Lusaka were charging pupils to sit for end of term tests.

He said such acts were questionable as most school fees in public schools were formally communicated to parents.

Mr Bubala said in an interview that there was need for the TCZ to regulate payment of fees as it had become a trend for some schools and teachers to ask for extra money which was not part of the initial fees. “Of course if the fee is introduced after a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) agreement, there is no problem, but schools and teachers cannot just ask for money at will. That is not right. Schools are primarily there to educate pupils and people should not make it a place to exploit others,” Mr Bubala said.

He said teachers who were in the habit of asking for money from pupils without formally agreeing with parents were stealing and must not be tolerated.

Mr Bubala said it was unacceptable for teachers to exhibit such unprofessionalism.

He said the TCZ should not take the reports lightly and investigate such matters to ensure that provision of quality education in the country was prioritised.