By CHILA NAMAIKO   –
THE Government is about to recruit 2,000 teachers to be deployed mostly to rural schools to help address a shortage of staff, Parliament heard yesterday.
General Education Minister Dennis Wanchinga, has, meanwhile, said the Government is in the process of gazetting 1,700 community schools across the country, giving them equal status with public-funded shools.
Dr Wanchinga said the ministry, in collaboration, with the Ministry of Finance, was making final arrangements for the recruitment of the 2,000 teachers that would be deployed in various schools.
He informed the House that the Government was committed to ensuring more teachers were recruited annually to continue to provide quality education to pupils.
Government was at the same time, continuing to construct more classrooms.
“We are in the process of recruiting 2,000 teachers and the focus is to beef up on those schools that have few teachers,” the minister said.
The Government was also making headway in gazetting 1,700 community schools to give them official ‘school status’ qualifying them to be staffed with government-paid teachers.
Dr Wanchinga said this in response to questions for oral answer from Chitambo Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Parliament (MP) Remember Mutale.
Mr Mutale asked the minister when Lunsambwa, Mpempa, Mangala, Musangashi, Chititima, Kalungu and Kaoma Community schools in his constituency would be coverted to Government schools.
Dr Wanchinga said the ministry would expedite the process of ensuring that the earmarked community schools were converted to Government schools and provided with fitting infrastructure.
He said recently that 2,000 community schools had been gazetted out of which a total of 1,200 had already been given Government school status.
The House also heard that construction of traditional leaders’ palaces across the country, being done in phases, was progressing well with Government assuring of completing the projects on time.
Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Minister Lawrence Sichalwe said the construction of palaces would only be done for the 288 chiefs recognised by the Government.
He said the Government would in phase-two of the project, construct a new palace for Chief Chizela in Mufumbwe, but would not do so for Chief Mushimo Mubambe because he was not a recognised traditional leader by Government.
This was in response to questions for oral answer from Mufumbwe United Party for National Development (UPND) MP Eliot Kamondo, who wanted to know whether the Government had any plans to construct palaces for Chief Chizela and Chief Mushimo Mubambe.
Itehzi-Tezhi MP Herbert Shabula, however, raised a point-of-order seeking clarification on why Chief Mushimo Mubambe was not recognised by the Government when North-Western Province Permanent Secretary Ephraim Mateyo today would be officiating at a traditional ceremony for the same chief.
First Deputy Speaker Catherine Namugala, in her ruling, directed Mr Sichalwe to issue a ministerial statement next week to clarify the status of the chief.