• Teachers have shown great commitment, leadership and innovation in ensuring continuity of learning in schools.
• There is need to close the current digital divide that exists between
Urban and rural schools
• Zambia joins the rest of the world in commemorating International Teachers Day.
Zambia National Education coalition (ZANEC) has called on the Ministry of Education to consider recruiting about 15,000 teachers next year.
Commenting on this year’s teacher’s day commemoration, Organization Executive Director George Hamusunga said this is to enable schools cope with the demand for more teachers resulting from the splitting of classes in view of the Covid-19 pandemic which requires physical distancing.
Mr. Hamusunga also stressed the need for government to give teachers the relevant tools and support through provision of continuous professional development that include enhancing their skills in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to deliver remote learning for them to support blended learning effectively.
“Achieving this requires closing the current digital divide that exists between our
Urban and rural schools to make our teachers better equipped to provide continuity of learning at home,” Mr. Hamusunga said.
And Mr. Hamusunga noted that teachers’ day gives stakeholders an opportunity to appreciate teachers for their hard work and successes as well as reflect on the difficulties and challenges they are facing.
He said teachers have shown great commitment, leadership and innovation in ensuring continuity of learning in schools since the country recorded its first COVID-19 case in March last year, hence the need to appreciate them.
“The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us of the important role that teachers play in the education of our children. During the COVID 19 pandemic, teachers have worked individually and collectively to find solutions and create new learning environments for the learners.”
“As schools reopened, teachers were at the center of the recovery process by ensuring that our children are learning in safe and health environments and catch up on the lost time. Research evidence from countries that succeeded in reaching more children through remote learning also shows that teachers were an important factor in guaranteeing education by finding creative ways of engaging with learners with or without technology,” he noted.
Zambia has today 5th October 2021, joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Teachers Day under the theme: “Teachers at the heart of education recovery.”