The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Torerai Moyo, said the Government will consider a request by teachers to be paid salaries commensurate with their qualifications and experience and the revival of manpower development leave programmes.
The Chronicle reported that Moyo met district school inspectors, school heads and other ministry officials from Matabeleland North Province on Thursday.
At the meeting, held at Tsholotsho High School, discussions centred on various issues affecting teachers.
In his presentation, Sicelo Dube, the headmaster of Tsholotsho High School and chairperson of the National Association of Secondary School Heads (NASH), said teachers’ salaries should reflect the profession’s duties, responsibilities as well as the individual’s qualifications and experience.
Dube said it was not fair for a teacher with a Bachelor’s degree and one with a diploma to be paid the same salary.
He also urged the government to review the manpower development leave programme which allowed teachers to pursue professional development opportunities while on full pay.
The NASH chairman stated that this will enable teachers to improve their academic qualifications while being paid enough to fend for their families.
Dube also requested that secondary schools be allowed to engage substantive deputy heads at the same enrolment level as primary schools.
For primary schools, a designated deputy head position is created when enrolment reaches 200 learners.
Dube said this will alleviate the burden on school heads, who are stretched by administrative duties.
He also pleaded for school heads to be exempted from teaching to concentrate on administration work, saying students lose valuable learning time when teaching heads attend to administration work.
Minister Moyo said he agreed with the idea of paying salaries commensurate with teachers’ qualifications and experience.
He said that he will soon engage the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to consider the issue. Said Moyo:
I totally agree that teachers should be paid salaries commensurate with their academic qualifications and experience.
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These are labour issues and honestly, someone with a diploma cannot be paid the same salary as a PHD holder, it’s absurd.
Even the number of years one has worked must be considered because that experience is invaluable. I will soon engage with my counterpart Minister Moyo (July) on this.
He said the revival of the programme was a noble idea that would encourage teachers to improve their qualifications.
During his two-day tour, Minister Moyo visited Tshabanda Adventist High School, Mtshina Primary and Secondary School and Tsholotsho High School.
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