Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) has urged government to allocate more than 20% of the 2021 national budget to the education sector.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Union Spokesperson Joe Kasaka said 20 percent allocation will make it easy for the schools to acquire the much needed teaching and learning materials.
Mr. Kasaka observed that due to Covid-19, schools will need a lot of desks, text books and some sort of infrastructure expansion and many other things.
“Our expectation is that we want the education sector to be given more than 20% of the entire 2021 budget allocation .Basically when we are given 20% of the national budget it means we are going to meet most of the things that we require in our schools,” Mr. Kasaka said.
He added that due to the inadequate teaching and learning materials, it is difficult to attain the quality of education that stakeholders have been advocating for.
“As you are aware our schools because of Covid-19 need a lot of desks, they need a lot of text books, we need some sort of infrastructure expansion and many other things. Our schools are there yes, but we lack a lot of things like materials for teaching and learning, so therefore we cannot even attain quality education that we always advocate for,” he stated.
Finance Minister Dr. Bwalya Ng’andu is expected to present the 2021 national budget on Friday 25th September, 2020.
The Minister is also expected to address issues related to the global and domestic economy, macro-economic objectives, policies, and strategies for 2021.