President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has said the government has not ignored the plight of the unemployed teachers; hence, engagements are ongoing with the stakeholders.

The engagements took place recently on the 1st and 22nd of July, during which the Ministry of Education informed the group that it would forward their qualifications to various institutions.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah provided this clarification during a courtesy meeting with representatives of the Unemployed Qualified Teachers at State House.

"I believe you do not expect that from the 22nd to the morning of the 25th, the Ministry of Education will have finalised all that was required, and I really feel that at this stage we have to complete what was said at the meeting of the 22nd. Thus, we will really know exactly what could be done. I fully agree that when one gets a qualification and you are not employed, it is frustrating in a way."

Among the list of demands by the unemployed teachers is the abolishment of the current interview system, which they say disadvantages them.

The group instead called for a mass national recruitment exercise based on meritocracy. 

"We further propose morning and afternoon teaching to optimise the infrastructure and create more posts: two teachers per class in junior primary, one for academics and one for mother tongue. Namcol students must be taught by unemployed qualified teachers; marking and adding marks for grades 11 and 12 must be done by unemployed teachers," said Joyce Liswaniso, Chairperson of the National Unemployed Qualified Teachers.

The group is also advocating for a national committee to manage a centralised database of all unemployed qualified teachers.

Such a database, they said, would ensure needs-based placements and eliminate corruption and the abolishing of temporary posts.

"End the use of temporary posts instead of creating permanent positions to foster stability, job security, and accountability. We are not asking for favours, only fairness."

President Nandi-Ndaitwah said that while the government is finding ways to look into the concerns raised by the unemployed teachers, training institutions ought to understand the job market.

They must consult the market, as an oversupply in some fields will prevent many from entering. Your proposals are good, and the government could consider them, but I assure you that not every teacher can be hired; it depends on industry demand. Therefore, based on the results of the meeting held on the 22nd, we now need to elaborate further and find a way to reduce the problem we are facing."