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Shortage of teachers still a problem despite government efforts
2008-05-06 09:49:32
By Patrick Kisembo
The government is implementing Teacher Development and Management Strategy (TDMS) which is geared to address the problem of shortage of teachers in the country. Nkasi District in Rukwa Region is among the districts that are badly hit by the problem. Staff Writer Patrick Kisembo, who visited the district recently, sheds some light on the matter. Read on…
It is a common phenomenon to see a primary school with 300 pupils but only five teachers or a secondary school of 490 students with 11 teachers in Nkasi district, Rukwa region.
Very often the number of teachers does not match with the number of students or pupils, a situation that has forced school management to hire non-professional teachers who ideally have no teaching skills. This, therefore threaten the entire education system in the district and the country at large.
Shortage of teachers and a poor pupils (students)/ teachers ratio has forced the administration to seek different alternatives in a bid to ensure that students and pupils are taught all subjects effectively.
But still it is difficult to tell whether they all meet teaching demands and challenges.
If one asks any school teacher or head of a school a question on the challenges they face at their schools, the first response is shortage of teachers with no hope of bridging the existing gap.
The problem is further compounded by the fact that those who are posted to schools in the rural areas do not report for duty or stay for a short time before they run away due to poor teaching and living conditions, among other things. As a temporary solution, some schools hire part-time teachers.
Nkasi Secondary school, one of the oldest schools in the district suffers from his disease.
It is a victim of shortage of teachers that has forced the administration to hire form six leavers to fill the gap. Four form six leavers have been hired this year to teach students in ordinary level.
``We see this as a solution though they have not attended any teaching course. They have been performing well,`` explained Fatma Mubaraka Acting Headmistress, Nkasi Secondary School when asked to comment on the matter.
She said that non-professional teachers have been a great help since the school was established more than 17 years ago, adding that the school has been hiring such part-time teachers even in the past years to fill up the vacuum of teaching staff at the school.
``But they are always under our supervision. We tell them what to teach, the kind of syllabus to use and the methodology,`` says Mubaraka.
The acting headmistress says there are criteria that the school sets for people who want to volunteer as part-time teachers but mostly they look for people who had done well in their Advanced level secondary school studies.
The school which is supposed to be the model of all schools in the district from the fact that it is the first public secondary school to be built in the district among 15 secondary schools sees shortage of teachers as a common problem and use of non-professional teachers as a stop-gap solution.
The school has only eleven teachers to teach about 490 students. Only two teachers teach science subjects, the subjects that are avoided by many students who blame poor foundation of the studies in primary schools.
The school has also four form six volunteers.
``We do not get any complains from students concerning the performance of part-time teachers. In fact some of them are just as good as professional teachers,`` she said.
Joyce Mgana is the District Commissioner for Nkasi, who did not know that teacher trainees were called vodafasta.
She says teachers who are sent for short course training are very useful in addressing the problem of shortage of teachers.
Admitting that the increased enrolment in primary schools has put more pressure on secondary schools, the DC said it was better to have people who can teach pupils and students rather than to have none at all.
``It is better to have what you call vodafasta while the government is working on an alternative way to get full professional teachers,`` she said.
Mgana who is a former secondary school teacher explained that quality education does not come in one day but through a long process that needs patience and all the people to work towards one goal.
She said it is a combination of many things that is why the system needs even people who are untrained but can teach while preparing professional teachers.
There are a number of schools that lack professional teachers, but they do not have alternatives to the problems they face.
On the Primary Education Programme for those who missed out (MEMKWA), the government had admitted in parliament that it was not planning to employ teachers for the programme but will be using volunteers who will be paid 20,000/ per month and who will collaborate with other professional teachers in their centres.
It also conceded that in principle the volunteers had not covered the gaps to work as primary school teachers since they were provided with very short courses meant for MEMKWA.
Vitus Mwanisenga, a head teacher at Kipundukala primary school who runs a MEMKWA class said his MEMKWA trainer had never attended any training except that he is learning through the experiences of other professional teachers.
``They always accompany us during classes so that they can learn from us experienced teachers,`` he said.
Crispin Kalama a volunteer among four others at Nkasi district said he enjoys teaching especially when students accept him in the class.
Kalama, who will soon join a teacher training college, teaches mathematics at the school. He says he does not teach because of money, but rather out of interest.
``I think I have been doing well, other wise students would have complained that I am not performing well. But for sure I still need teaching skills,`` he says.
With all the efforts by the government and private sector in improving the quality of education in the country, problems of shortage of teachers still persist.
The government needs to think of alternatives as the number of students graduating from secondary schools and primary schools continues to rise.
Poor conditions and low pay may be other problems causing professional teachers to quit their jobs for other activities.
While schools continue to use form six leavers to teach ordinary level secondary school, the Acting Nkasi District Education Officer, Gift Kyando, says the District Council has no information that some schools have hired non-professional people to act as teachers saying the Council can not allow such a situation.
He however admitted that shortage of teachers in most of the schools from primary to secondary schools is being contributed by poor district environment which makes some of the teachers not report for duty, quit their jobs, or ask for transfers.
Now that the problem is becoming more severe, is it possible for the government to set aside a special fund that will be used to improve teacher`s working and living conditions? This is the time for the government to try to find untapped sources for teachers.
But questions will still remain as to whether the government will make it in time to create an environment that would attract and retain teachers, an environment that would build a motivated and committed teaching force.
But may be it is not all about money and improved conditions; some teachers at Wampembe secondary school in Nkasi district have reportedly run away even after being given motivation and cash to start up a new life.
``The regional authorities have provided everything to one of the teachers to stay and teach at Wapembe, a new secondary school, but he sold everything and went back to his home.
Sometimes it is not just money, but the commitment to teach that will keep teachers in their schools,`` explained Kyando.
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