109, 374 Teachers Fail To Pay for Practising Licenses; Teaching Council of Zambia says

THE Teaching Council of Zambia (TCZ) says teachers are struggling to meet the cost charged on all those applying for practising certificates.In a statement issued by TCZ Spokesperson Ngoza Malonga, only 25, 000 teachers have applied for the practising certificates out of the total 134, 374 number of registered teachers.And Malongo said the issuance of the practicing certificates as provided for in the Teaching Profession Act No. 5 of 2013 has since commenced.“July 31st, 2018 was set as deadline for application of practicing certificates. However, out of the 134, 374 registered teachers, only about 25,000 teachers have so far applied for the practicing certificates.  This means that 109, 374 of the registered teachers have defaulted in this regard,” said Malonga.She said because of the difficulties faced in paying the fees, teacher unions have made requests to the Council to consider coming up with a more flexible payment plan through the payroll.“Given the difficulties a lot of teachers are generally facing in settling their bills, several stakeholders especially teacher unions, made requests to the Council to consider coming up with a more flexible payment plan through the payroll.  It is in this context that the TCZ has secured a PMEC Deduction Code for teachers in the public sector who have not paid and applied for the practicing certificates to do so,” Malonga said.She said for teachers in the private sector, the council will enter into a memoranda of understanding with Private School Proprietors to agree on an equivalent payment modality.“Through the said payment plan for teachers in public sector, deductions shall be effected in equal monthly instalments over a maximum period of three (3) years within the life span of the practicing certificate,” said Malonga.And the council has since extended the deadline for application of practicing certificates to end August 2018.And Malonga said the payroll deductions shall run for thirty six (36) months. Post Views: 1