Mbabane: Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) has on Tuesday delivered a petition to the Cabinet offices which has grievances and chief among them was the non-employment of teachers and the casualization of the teaching profession.
SNAT is concerned that a number of teachers who graduated from Ngwane Teachers College, William Pitcher College, Nazarene University, and the University of Eswatini are unemployed together with other students who graduated from other various local institutions.
The numbers of unemployed graduates are increasing every year since colleges and universities keep producing people while job opportunities are limited.
According to SNAT General Secretary, Mbongwa Dlamini, Dlamini government has to unfreeze the hiring of teachers and they should be hired on a permanent basis other than the short-term contracts, Dlamini stated that if the level of unemployment increases, poverty will increase hence there is a need to consider hiring all of the teachers.
Dlamini also criticized the statement made by the Chairman of the Teaching Service Commission, Dr. Mahlalela who earlier said unemployed teachers should consider exploring farming while for so many years he ( Dr. Mahlalela) had been producing teachers at Ngwane Teachers College but today he was changing tune telling them to leave their profession for another one.
Bertram Stewart the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of education during his speech when talking in Parliament during the Public Account Committee (PAC) appearance, said they asked to be given a number of 900 teachers earlier this year but they were only given 400. Again, he revealed that they further asked for 300 and they still waiting for approval from the government. He said they are aware that some of the schools are short of teachers and they are doing their best as a ministry to rectify that.
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