MINISTER of Education Owen Nxumalo says it is his wish to have all teachers employed on a permanent basis, rather than on contracts or temporary terms.
Nxumalo said he was aware of many qualified teachers working on contracts, something he said must be done away with. He was speaking while gracing the handover of a block of six classrooms at Makhonza Primary School, a project funded by the United States Embassy.
A sum of over E50 million was invested by the United States in the construction of classrooms in four schools: three in the Shiselweni region and one in the Hhohho region.
Nxumalo thanked the US government for the construction of the classrooms. The other schools that benefited include Etjedze and KaMzila, which together with Makhonza are in the Shiselweni region, while the fourth school is Ejubukweni in the Hhohho region.
“What excites me is that these projects have occurred during our tenure. This is something to celebrate and as a ministry, we are grateful that the US Embassy responded shortly after being approached. An investment of E50 million is a lot of money. We attribute all this to His Majesty King Mswati III, for forging a relationship with the US,” said Nxumalo.
He added that the ministry was aware of the high number of teachers working on contracts and said something was being done to address this.
“We will have teachers on contract converted to permanent employment as we have been promising. It is my wish that all teachers are employed permanently. My wish is to have teachers employed every year on a permanent basis,” said Nxumalo.
