The Ministry of basic and Secondary Education has welcomed the government’s decision to recruit new primary school teachers, describing it as a timely intervention that will ease pressure in overcrowded classrooms.
This follows a circular issued by the Secretary for Local Government, Unity and Culture on 30 May 2025, requesting all District Commissioners to seek authority from the Department of Human Resource Management and Development to fill vacant positions of Primary School Teachers (Grade TL).
The vacancies have been created after the promotion of 26 284 teachers from Grade TL to Grade TK, with the changes expected to be effective by 4 June 2025.
In its reaction, the Ministry of basic and Secondary Education says the development is a crucial step toward improving the quality of education in public primary schools.
Its public relations officer Christopher Kapachika Banda said the recruitment will address the long-standing issue of high teacher-to-pupil ratios, which has negatively impacted the delivery of education.
“In this country, we have 5 979 public primary schools. In these schools, we have 76 735 teachers. And these teachers are handling over five million learners,” Banda said.
He emphasised that while infrastructure and learning materials are important, the presence of enough qualified teachers remains the cornerstone of quality education.
“Our vision is to provide quality and relevant education to every child. This cannot be realised if we do not have enough teachers. We can have books and classrooms, but without sufficient teaching staff, our vision remains out of reach,” he added.
The Ministry believes the upcoming recruitment exercise will significantly reduce the pupil-teacher ratio, creating a more conducive learning environment for both teachers and learners.
