Teachers Union demands stiff sanctions for tutors caught drinking alcohol during work hours

Teachers Union has called for stiff punishment for teachers who were caught drinking alcohol instead of attending to pupils in class.

On Friday February 17, 2023, a teacher and a headmaster were caught drinking alcohol by the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS).

This development has not settled well with Some Teachers Unions

Secondary Schools Teachers Union of Zambia General Secretary Sitibekiso Wamuyuwa called for the law to take its course when such matters were brought to light.

Wamuyuwa said in an interview in Lusaka on Tuesday that the Union would not support any wrong doing.

“We are calling on officers at the Ministry of Education through the Teacher Service Commission to follow the right procedure so that at the end of the day no one will cry victim. We are aware that it is easy for someone who is a perpetrator to gain sympathy if they are not receiving a fair treatment,” he said.

Wamuyuwa said if government followed the laid down procedure to discipline the two teachers, no one would complain any form of injustice suffered.

He said the behaviour of the two teachers was regrettable and that it was not something that could make anyone proud and appealed to them to reflect on it.

And Zambia National Union of Teachers Secretary General, Godwin Maseka wondered how teachers would sink so low and involve themselves in the act the country witnessed last week.

Maseka was saddened that professionals would engage themselves at the time they were supposed to be in class in that manner.

“We wish to implore responsible officers at the Ministry of Education to ensure that the disciplinary procedures is adhered to every-time they are dealing with issues such as the Kasama incident,” he said.

He further castigated officers from the District Education Board Secretary the manner they conducted themselves.

He stated that being a good manager did not require one to go public and embarrass the workers they worked with on a daily basis.

“It is immoral to parade shame on the social media but says there is always a procedure that must be followed so that sanity must be followed,” Maseka said.

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