An appeal has gone out to government to consider permanent recruitment for teachers under the Initial Primary Teacher Education (IPTE) cohort.

According to Mulanje Bale Member of Parliament Victor Musowa, the extension of contract for auxiliary teachers with financial support from World Bank is not effective for the country`s education sector.

“You cannot hire or recruit members of staff on World Bank programme, World Bank programme don’t recruit people so if they recruit people it’s their own programme.

“But this auxiliary programme is going to an end so at the end of the day these young people have no employment in short and that’s my worry, ” said Musowa.

He expressed concern that with the passing of the 2021/2022 budget, the teachers will not be considered for full employment in the current financial year.

“I think this is a valid query considering that all teachers that have been trained by government in the programme of IPTE we have now reached IPTE 17 but teachers from IPTE 13 up to now they haven’t been hired.

“Considering what is happening now they are going to be sent back home and have nothing to do and we are going to hire them in the next budget which is next year,” said Musowa.

Meanwhile, government has extended for two months contracts for auxiliary teachers who were deployed across the country to help decongest classrooms as one of the preventive measures in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Government through the Ministries of Education and Local Government recruited 3,270 auxiliary teachers to play a crucial role in decongesting classes in the country amidst the coronavirus pandemic.