Private Schools Association of Malawi (PRISAM) has described the recent Malawi government’s recruitment and promotion of secondary school teachers as way forward towards efforts to improving education quality in the country.
On 19 February, 2024, the Malawi government through the Ministry of Education, announced that it has recruited. 2,681 and promoted 2,259 teachers at Grade TI and TJ, respectively, whereas addition, 3,997 teachers were promoted to Senior Teachers/Heads of Department (Grade TH), and 316 teachers were promoted to the position of Heads of Department (Grade TG), 500 to Head Teachers (Grade TG) position.
Reacting to the development, PRISAM through its President Ernest Kaonga, said this is timely and very commendable as the country and its educational partners strive to make progress on efforts to improve education standards.
“The development shows government’s commitment to addressing the critical shortage of teachers nationwide which is essential for nurturing academic excellence and fostering effective teaching and learning environments. We really commend the Malawi government for this gesture,” reacted Kaonga.
Kaonga was, however, so quick to warn teachers who received their promotion whilst in private schools to go in government schools with good intentions saying some of them are running from the private sector to government because they are lazy.
“Some of them cannot withstand the heat and pressure in the private sector. Some of them want to be in their comfort zone. That’s why they feel like there is job security in government due to lack of checks and balances,” he added.
The Malawi Government said the recruitment and promotion of these teachers is because the together with its developmental partners embarked on an expansion drive through the construction of new secondary schools and expansion and upgrading of existing ones, in a bid to expand secondary education.
