Education body clamours for salary increment for teachers to address high cost of living

After analysing the current high cost of living in Zambia, National Action for Quality Education in Zambia ( NAQEZ) is urging government and teacher unions to increase salaries for teachers by K3,000 across the board for 2024 .

NAQEZ Exective Director, Aaron Chansa, said with increased essential commodities and services such as fuel, mealie meal and transport, the 10.5 percent salary increase which teachers received for 2023 had been diluted.

Chansa in a statement issued in Lusaka on Monday noted that this would promote fairness amongst the teaching staff.

He said there was urgent need for government and unions to award an increase in salaries for teachers in a manner that would be above or equal to the rate at which commodities have increased .

“Instead of increasing salaries in percentages, we propose an upward increase by K3,000 for everyone in the Ministry of Education regardless of the position they hold,” Chansa said.

He said the current system of increasing salaries using percentages only benefits those in higher positions.

“Teachers are very critical to the development of Zambia. This country will not sustainably develop if government and unions will not significantly motivate our educator,” Chansa said.

He said currently, majority of the teachers were not motivated as they were passing through alot of hardships .

Chansa said most of them had not been upgraded while others had been acting for many years without being confirmed .

“Currently, it is also common to find some teachers staying in grass thatched houses. Government and unions should lead the way in appreciating teachers for the indispensable space they occupy in our nation,” he said.

Chansa said with a K3,000 salary increment, teachers would be happy and be able to manage their lives under the current circumstances.

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