Teachers Union of Malawi faults govt for introducing fees in TTCs

The Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) has condemned government’s idea to introduce fees in Teachers Training Colleges (TTCs), and has since accused government of “commercializing the noble profession.”

Government, through Ministry of Education and Science Technology spokesperson Manfred Ndovi, has confirmed its idea of introducing the fees but said the fees will be highly “subsidized.”

Adverts presently flying in local media are informing aspirants that they will be required to pay.

Ndovi said training teachers was becoming increasingly expensive, revealing government is spending not less than K500 000 to train one teacher.

But TUM secretary general Denis Kalekeni said government’s decision will frustrate quality of education in the country.

“This is unacceptable. We’re talking about a noble profession aimed at imparting knowledge to the next generation, why should that come at a price?” Kalekeni is quoted as saying by The Nation.

Currently, there are 5 359 public primary schools in the country enrolling a total of 4 688 992 pupils against 58  946 teachers.

In order to achieve a 1:60 ratio, the system needs 78 150 teachers which means currently the system is short of 19 204 teachers.