Jakaya Kikwete
instructs Maghembe
to fire dishonest
President Jakaya Kikwete yesterday ordered Education and Vocational Training minister Prof Jumanne Maghembe to ensure that all unscrupulous elements in the National Examination Council of Tanzania (NECTA) are sacked immediately.
The President said the responsible ministry should carry-out a thorough scrutiny into the country`s examination body and root-out all officials behind the ongoing malpractices and cheating in exams.
Kikwete gave the order when he held talks with officials from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training on the fate of the country`s education development.
``Make sure all people involved in this intolerable and dishonest behaviour are dismissed,`` Kikwete told Prof. Jumanne Maghembe and other officials who attended the meeting, held at the State House.
President Kikwete gave the order following frequent examination leakages in recent years. Primary and secondary schools national examinations are prepared and monitored by Necta.
Kikwete said the weakness in supervising examinations was an area that needed to be given special attention for the betterment of education system in the country.
He underscored the need to put in place the country`s security system in all stages of processing the examinations from questions setting to marking.
The President said there was a need for the current system to be re-examined so that all the loopeholes leading to examination leakages were plugged.
On payment of teachers` arrears, the head of state said there was a need to strengthen the ministry's accounts and administration departments and in all councils.
He said officials in the accounts and administration departments whose performance was below standard should be dismissed immediately.
President Kikwete also said teachers and other civil servants should not be transferred if the government was not in a position to pay them their transfer allowances.
He said teachers or civil servants on transfer should be paid before they leave their former work stations.
He called on the ministry to immediately stop the behaviour of accumulating teachers' debts, insisting that any teacher with genuine claims must be paid immediately.
``I am aware that there will always be excuses from the government. But how come that a teacher is promoted for the first time but is not given his new salary.He is promoted for the second time but still no new salary.... Is promoted for the third time and yet his salary slip does not reflect the new position?``
President Kikwete asked. He said it was incomprehensible because all promotions were included in the budget.
Kikwete said he was well-informed that there was a group of people whose work ``is to keep receipts to claim money every now and then.``
The President said: `` For instance, in March last year we paid teachers` arrears, unfortunately in July we got new claims from teachers which were bigger than that of March, the same occurred in September.``
He said: We cannot continue with this trend the claims are the same and the receipts are the same this should be worked out and people behind it brought to justice.``
The President insisted that he would not like to hear teachers` complaints any more.
``I want every body to take his/her responsibility. I am tired of the bad practices. We want honest civil servants to serve the people,`` he said.
- SOURCE: GUARDIAN
No comments:
Post a Comment