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Sylvia Utete-Masango

Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Correspondent
THE Government is pushing for local authorities to avail housing stands for teachers as most of them live in squalid conditions that do not suit their professional status. Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango said this yesterday at Kumalo Primary School during the awarding ceremony of the Secretary’s Merit Award to the school for its excellence in Bulawayo for the year 2015.

She said the allocation of land was now at policy level with designs for the houses having been done.

“It’s the Ministry’s policy that whenever we put up new schools teachers’ accommodation is a priority. We already have the designs approved by the Department of Public Works who are responsible for that. I was also saying even with old schools there’s no harm if the city fathers avail land to the respective schools so that they can at least construct teachers houses and those houses are tied to that given school,” she said.

Dr Utete-Masango said teachers deserve as much respect as that accorded to other professionals who are provided accommodation before commencement of service.

“As long as you’re a teacher you’re assured of accommodation. These are the plans that we’re talking about. It’s almost akin to a medical doctor. For example, if a medical doctor is posted to a hospital there’s a doctor’s house and the doctors know that there’s accommodation there. They don’t have to worry about where they’re going to stay. As the Ministry’s policy we want to also make sure that we make an effort in that regard. And we’ve got to work with the city fathers and even rural local authorities so that they can avail land for this purpose,” said Dr Utete-Masango.

She said the plan was necessitated by the desire to provide affordable housing to teachers. “We want the teacher not to worry too much about accommodation but to concentrate more on teaching and learning,” she said. Dr Utete-Masango urged parents to come aboard when it comes to the payment of fees and levies saying their support will help schools produce excellent results.

Kumalo was doing well because parents were also playing their role in the payment of fees, she said. The school was winning the award for the first time since its inception in 1952. Mrs Rosbud Ndlovu, the headmistress said the school is overwhelmed with pupils’ enrolment owing to parents transferring their children from more expensive private schools.

As such, Mrs Ndlovu said the school has witnessed a steady increase in enrolment figures from 952 pupils in 2012 to 1,340 learners this year.