Dutch grant US $11.3 million to break teacher logjam

The Dutch government confirmed on Wednesday that it would grant US $11.3 million to Zambia's education ministry to cover the cost of severance packages for teachers retrenched as far back as 2000, clearing the way for the recruitment of new teaching staff. The bulk of the grant would be released in October and is expected to be used to settle arrears owed to 7,733 teachers, laid off between 2000 and 2004. The remainder of the money will finance the recruitment of the same number of new teachers. "The new graduates should replace retired teachers as soon as payment of their terminal benefits allows us to deploy new teachers. This financial support will hopefully encourage new teachers to fill the vacancies in rural areas, where many schools struggle with a high pupil-teacher ratio," the First Secretary of education at the Netherlands embassy in Lusaka, Bert Huguenin, told IRIN. He said nearly US $2 million would be spent on relocation costs for new teachers. In recent years Zambia has had to deal with limits on public expenditure as a result of its commitment to respect a ceiling on its wage bill. The added burden of settling the retrenchments has severely restricted the recruitment of new teaching staff. HIV/AIDS has also taken a heavy toll on the country's teachers. The number of deaths among primary school teachers rose from two per day in 1996 to more than four per day in 1998, largely as a result of AIDS. This reflects an annual loss of four percent of all registered primary teachers, or two thirds of each year's output of newly-trained teachers. "Education is a key sector in the poverty reduction strategy of the government of Zambia. Economic growth can only be achieved with skilled workers at all levels of society, and this makes the investment in education an essential contribution to the future of Zambia," Huguenin said. The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education, Moses Musonda, confirmed the government's commitment to complete the retirement of 7,733 teachers and the deployment of the same number of new recruits before the end of December 2004.