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Bulawayo Bureau
THE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has recruited about 1 300 teachers, the majority of them being deployed to Matabeleland North Province. This follows complaints that individual teachers are manning classes with as many as 165 pupils after the Public Service Commission froze the recruitment of teachers and other professionals in 2014.

In an advertisement, the ministry published the full list of teachers that have been engaged.

The ministry’s secretary, Mrs Tumisang Thabela, said the teachers should immediately report to district offices for deployment.

“This serves to inform individuals that you have been appointed by the Public Service Commission to serve as teachers in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. You are advised to report to the indicated district office for deployment,” said Mrs Thabela.

Of the 1 310 recruited teachers, 300 will be in Matabeleland North province in both primary and secondary schools.

Matabeleland South was allocated 242 teachers while Bulawayo got 107. Masvingo got 105 while Midlands was allocated 73 teachers.

“The recruited teachers are from different districts in nine provinces. Matabeleland North which was in critical need of teachers for various subjects in both primary and secondary level was allocated 300 teachers to boost its academic performance,” she said.

According to Mrs Thabela, the recruitment is also intended to facilitate implementation of the new curriculum introduced over a year ago by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.

“The curriculum places emphasis on practical subjects and a continuous assessment of pupils instead of judging them on the basis of a single end of year examination. The Government has given a special dispensation to critical sectors, among them the teaching fraternity, to unfreeze some posts,” she said.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive Mr Sifiso Ndlovu welcomed the development saying it will go a long way in addressing shortages in some areas.

“We are happy because the recruitment is a sign that Government has started implementing what we agreed on in terms of ensuring there are adequate teachers in our schools.

“The number of those recruited is less than what we expected, but at least it’s a good sign,” said Mr Ndlovu.