Frustration of quali ied people promotes unrest – Speaker

MANZINI – “The unrest in the country is because qualified people don’t get what they deserve,” says Speaker Petros Mavimbela.

The Speaker was seeking to establish what was stopping the recruitment of teachers and what was prolonging the signing of the waiver to employ them.

He wondered who was the individual sleeping on the job. Mavimbela questioned if this officer was not fuelling the unrest in the country.

This, the Speaker directed to Teaching Service Commission (TSC) Chairman Dr Amos Mahlalela.

Also, Chairperson of the Ministry of Education and Training Portfolio Committee Noah Gama said Circular No.3 of 2018 was the biggest challenge.

He said: “When the policy came to effect, there were vacant posts and they were frozen. The circular stopped the creation of posts while teachers retired, died and sought greener pastures.”

Gama, who is also the Sandleni Constituency MP, said Circular No.3 of 2018 contradicted what the Ministry of Education and Training sought to achieve.

On the other hand, Ludzeludze Constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Vusi Siwali said contract teachers were sent to abject poverty by perpetually employing them on contract basis which elapsed every two years.

He said there were people he knew who had been on the government payroll for over 15 years. Shongwe said this meant that those who were employed on contract were not accessible to benefits that were amassed by those who were recruited on permanent basis.

The legislator sought clarity from Dr Mahlalela on what instrument was being used to retain teachers on contract basis.

Also, Nkomiyahlaba Constituency MP Welcome Shongwe wondered if the TSC was aware that it was recruiting teachers on a contract basis despite that there was a shortage of teachers in schools due to natural attrition, retirement and other causes.

Stopped

He wondered what stopped the TSC from recruiting teachers permanently when there were available posts.

He alleged that the savings that were said to be made by government by not replacing teachers compromised the value of education.

Shongwe said the recruitment of teachers on contract basis resulted in them being demotivated as they were not remunerated in the same manner as those employed on permanent basis.

To this, TSC chairperson said teachers who were recruited on contract basis was a result of Circular No.3 of 2018. He implored legislators to remove the waiver through a motion in Parliament.

Dr Mahlalela said: “(Seeking the) waiver affects all citizens and MPs will know where it came from. With its removal, vacancies would be filled.”

Leading to the complaints about Circular No.3 of 2018, Dr Mahlalela had informed the legislators that there was a new trend in hiring teachers which was that of awarding contracts.

This, he said, posed lots of challenges for the TSC as hiring was not done constantly despite that some contracts lapsed before the end of an academic year. Dr Mahlalela made an example that due to COVID -19, some lecturers who were employed on contract in tertiary institutions had their contracts lapse before the end of a semester.

He said given that the processes that were required for one to have a contract renewed were long and took time; some lecturers did not assess their students.

Dr Mahlalela said the processes entailed seeking a waiver to have a contract renewed or to even award one which was a lengthy process. He said the issue of contracts complicated their work as the TSC.

Worth noting is that as a means to curb the ballooning wage bill, government suspended the recruitment, promotion and creating of posts in the civil service.

Where there is a pressing need, ministries seek to seek a waiver from Cabinet through communication with the Ministry of Public Service.