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{
    "id": 53700,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/53700/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 348,
    "type": "other",
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    "content": "staff. When we talk about the need to improve education in our country, and in our constituencies, we more often than not, do not pay any attention to members of staff in this cadre. We spend a lot of time encouraging and motivating teachers to ensure that they produce good results. We talk a lot to teachers and the pupils. We even talk to parents, but more often than not, most of us and the Ministry forget this support team, who, if not also well motivated, performance in schools will not improve. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, when I went back to the school I was in a couple of years, as a guest honour to help in giving out prizes to students, I found that the person who was cooking for us then is cooking for pupils today. I did not have an opportunity to ask him whether his terms of service have changed, but chances are that they have changed minimally. Why? This is because there is no scheme of service that compels the school’s administration to move in a given manner. So, it is important that we also think about these employees. Even as we talk about employment in the country, this is an area where we have very many employees. The Government is already committing money for their payment, but there is need to make sure that there is harmony across the country, so that when you are in that school, you can know what a messenger and other non-teaching staff are supposed to be paid. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, it is important to note that even within those schools, those employees who were employed before the 1980s, are going to have pension upon their retirement, because there was a policy which covered them during that time. Those who were employed afterwards are not enjoying the same terms as those who were there before them. So, they have been left at the mercy of BOGs, and this is not a motivating thing. It is, therefore, important that a criterion is developed by the Ministry, so that we know what one needs to have to qualify for the job of a secretary in a public school. It should not be left to the principal to just employ a relative or a friend and then fix the pay, depending on who has come onboard. It is important that an entry point is defined by the Ministry, which should apply uniformly across the country. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there should also be known progression. What happens when you are in employment? At what point do you leave the grade at which you are serving to the next grade? Eventually, how do you exit that service? At what point do you retire, and how do you take care of yourself after retirement? In other words, there is need for a pension scheme for non-teaching staff. There are also times when one may need to move on because he has gotten greener pastures. When that happens, what kind of package do you go home with? It is important that this whole issue is harmonised. The Ministry has continuously been reforming the recruitment process for teachers. They have now approached BOGs to do the recruitment of teachers and forward their names to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for payment. So, the teachers who are recruited by the BOGs are put on a payroll, and they are paid directly by the TSC. Their salaries go straight into their bank accounts. Non-teaching staff who are already in schools can also go through the same process. It is important that they are re- interviewed by the BOGs. There can be a criterion to be satisfied in order for one to remain in service. The BOGs can then interview those employees and have their names forwarded to the Ministry for inclusion in the payroll."
}