Teachers excited with National Teachers’ Policy

Teachers in the country say, once finalized, the National Teachers Policy (NTP) heralds good tidings for them—especially considering the fact that the legislation will ease their career paths in terms of promotions.

Teachers from across the districts in the country on Monday participated in a conference in the capital Lilongwe where the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) sought their views which will, among others, be the basis for the formulation and implementation of the National Teachers Policy.

Held under the theme ‘Teachers, Policies and Practices in the time of COVID-19: Opportunities and Dilemmas, the conference expressed their concerns regarding their welfare.

And once completed and implemented, the policy aims at improving teachers’ welfare in Malawi.

In an interview, a Blantyre Secondary School teacher, Chifuniro Kamwendo, said the policy will be a pathway for overcoming one of the serious challenges teachers have faced for a long time.

“Without proper guidelines, the promotion procedure does not go as required. There are cases when a teacher works for more than ten years without promotion, and in a worst scenario, some even retire on the same grade,” she said.

Commenting on the development, Education Specialist responsible for Teachers Education under the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Milandu Mwale, said the NTP will support teachers’ education and, help in accountability and professionalism.

“This initiative provides a platform that will bring teachers together to address certain issues and inform the policy developers and framers on what is practical and how best we can improve on issues that are on the ground,” she explained.

In his remarks, Director of Administration in the Ministry of Education, James Manyetera, said as a ministry, they are working to ensure that the policy framework puts teachers at the core of ensuring access to quality education as implementers of the curriculum and facilitators of learning.

“This is why we are on the drive to come up with measures to ensure we improve conditions for teachers by addressing their issues, motivating and professionalizing them as a teaching force,” he said.

 

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