TI-Z concerned with suspicions of political interference in teacher recruitment

The Transparency International Zambia has charged that there have been suspicions of political interference in the ongoing teacher recruitment process.

Organization Executive Director Maurice Nyambe says TIZ has reached out to relevant stakeholders in order to ascertain the validity of these suspicions.

Mr. Nyambe has explained that following the enquiry into the matter, they have established, among other things that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) dispatched officers to all 116 districts to oversee the teacher recruitment process, to ensure utmost integrity and to stamp out any inclination towards corruption.

Bur Mr. Nyambe says stakeholders have expressed concerns that some government and ruling party officials have been presenting lists of their recommended persons who they deem to be more deserving of recruitment, thereby disrupting the exercise.

He says such political interference has the potential to undermine the entire process and to cause a loss of public trust in other government programmes stressing that this also paves the way for weaker institutional systems that lack professionalism and independent administration.

He has therefore calls on the UPND administration to urgently intervene in order to alienate this process from the anomalies of the past.