Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) President, Willy Malimba, told Zodiak Online on Monday, that in a meeting recently with Ministry of Education and the implementing partner, World Bank, it emerged only teachers in most remote schools shall be getting K30, 000 while those in remote schools will still be getting K10,000.
"We had a meeting with Ministry of education and World Bank in February this year where it emerged that only teachers in most remote schools shall be getting K30, 000 while those in remote schools will still be getting K10,000.
“In this one, only few schools are going to benefit and the rest of the schools will not benefit. And the sad thing is that the K10, 000 they are getting will be removed from their salaries. So waiting for a long time, to us it's not a sad thing, because we know that it will bring confusion in the system. So we are not worried whether in December or anything because others will not be receiving the K10, 000.
"What I can say is that teachers should know that allowance comes and it goes. It's not a permanent thing," Malimba said.
Meanwhile, Malimba has since adviced some teachers to brace for tough times because in the new system, rural allowances for many who are not in remote areas will be scrapped off.
"But now looking at the situation on the ground, things have gone up, people are already panicked, so removing K10, 000 will be something else," he said.
During the Teachers Day last year, Ministry of education announced a revised school attached hardship allowance targeting those in very remote and semi-hard to reach schools.
Government indicated that teachers in very hard to reach schools will be getting 25, 000 Kwacha while those in semi-hard to reach schools will be getting 15,000 Kwacha up from the current 10, 000 Kwacha.
However, two weeks after requesting for a questionnaire, Ministry of education officials were yet to respond on the matter.
Teachers hardship allowance was introduced to ensuring teacher availability and retention in hard to reach schools in the country.
