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{
    "id": 381851,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/381851/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 33,
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    "content": "am sure teachers have a point. They must be having a bone to pick with the Ministry. So, it is not just an issue of mere allowances, increases and so forth. Secondly, Mr. Speaker, Sir, you will also note that the figure of 10,000 teachers that the Secretary for Education says they will recruit, to me, is a drop in the ocean. We need to recruit more than 10,000 teachers if this country is serious with the provision of quality education. If that will not happen, then the same thing will continue happening. We will continue witnessing strikes year in, year out. It is sad that teachers must go on strike before their demands are honoured. This trend must stop. We should be seen to be serious when dealing with teachers’ issues. We should treat teachers as professionals who know what they are doing. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you will also note that the Early Childhood Development (ECD) teachers have not been recruited, so far, but teaching has been going on unabated. We have had teachers who volunteer themselves to teach under very difficult conditions. So, it is only humane for the Government, therefore, to listen to the cries of the teachers. The cries of the teachers are the cries of the country. Our pupils and students must be taught. This is not a demand for salaries and allowances alone; it is the demand of the country. The country must be seen to be taking care of a service. That service is provided by the Ministry. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is an illusion that the teachers and the Ministry take a lot of money from the Budget. This is not true. It is only that the Ministry of Education is a service Ministry. Even if they were to be allocated the whole budget of the country, that would not be enough. So all we need to do is prioritize our needs. We need to make sure that the Ministry is given adequate budgetary allocations so that all these demands are met. Otherwise, if other Ministries are given whatever they demand, then why are the teachers not paid when they demand? If we can only pay them when they are on strike, then it is okay for them to continue with it until they are paid. I would also like to plead with the Ministry to make sure that teachers go back to teaching because they are wasting a lot of time for our children. Parents are agonizing because students are at home. I am sure there are so many problems which are emanating from the failure of our children to go to school. There are areas like North Eastern and Eastern Provinces which are dry and where students are on school feeding programmes. Therefore, if they are not in class, I am sure that the feeding programme is not going on. Therefore, it is necessary and urgent that the teachers meet quickly and resolve this crisis."
}