Government on Thursday asked teachers in the country to embrace dialogue as one way of communicating and finding solutions on issues affecting them.
Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mary Chirwa made the call during a two-day social dialogue meeting held at Malawi Sun Hotel in Blantyre.
Speaking during a Norwegian government and UNESCO funded meeting, Chirwa said dialogue has the potential to provide solutions to some of the challenges affecting teachers in the country as opposed to resorting to industrial strikes.
“As a country we have had a number of demonstrations organized by teachers as well as students without using dialogue. As government, we are greatly concerned especially when we look at the impact of these demonstrations to the education sector,” Chirwa said.
She further observed that the recent strikes and demonstrations conducted by teachers in the country showed that there was lack of dialogue on issues that affect them.
“Teachers have been failing to consult government whenever they have issues and instead, they end up staging strikes when the issue could have been addressed if they consulted and hear Government’s position,” she added.
General Secretary for Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM), Charles Kumchenga, commended government and UNESCO for coming up with such a meeting as he believed it would help teachers choose right directions when voicing out concerns affecting their daily lives.
“The meeting will help teachers deliberate issues affecting school performance, teachers’ welfare, syllabus and curriculum implementation and initiatives that can boost the education sector as a whole,” he said.
UNESCO National Teachers Initiatives Project Coordinator, Dr. George Mindano expressed optimism that teachers would embrace negotiations as one way of improving the education sector in the country.
“Among others, we want teachers to understand the concept of social dialogue as one way of finding lasting solutions to challenges affecting the education sector,” Mindano said.
The meeting drew together officials from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, UNESCO, education managers from different districts, TUM and Private Schools Employees Union of Malawi just to mention a few.
The National Teachers’ Initiative project is being implemented in Malawi, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Uganda.-(Story By Glory Msowoya, MANA)
