As the Tonse alliance government continue to corner teachers in the country, it has been revealed that councils have rolled out massive deductions from teachers’ already meagre perks effective February month-end.
A leaked document, seen by this reporter, indicates that teachers will, without their consent, be deducted some funds for district welfare.
According to the document, every teacher will be deducted about MK1,500 each month towards the cause.
In an interview, one of the officials at Nkhatabay District Council who pleaded to be quoted on condition of anonymity, confirmed the development citing that they consulted only few teachers in their district.
“That issue is true. We have an account where such funds would be channeled. So, they’ll be deducted about MK1500,” she said.
In a separate interview, most teachers serving in the district expressed ignorance on the matter saying it will be an outlandish deduction.
When this reporter followed up the issue with teachers from other districts, the same ignorance on the issue was shared.
In Mzimba South Education district, officials from the human resource department who, as well pleaded for anonymity, confirmed the development but insisted that the initiative is not targeting only teachers but all civil servants.
“Other civil servants will also be subject to this. It’s not for teachers only,” said one of the officers.
“Well, the initiative has been launched as a way of pulling together the money that would later on be used to assist particular officers faced with problems like funerals and all that.”
Traditionally, this reporter understands, government used to bear the costs for all the expenses incurred during funerals of civil servants. The introduction of this scheme infers that such a tradition would be scrapped off.
The deduction follows a series of others, including, but not limited to, pension contribution funds and others, not well explainable.
Meanwhile, teachers have given up on government torture, saying they are learning to live with all the mistreatment that would befallen on them from anyone including locals from their duty stations.
