FRIDAY 4TH OCTOBER, 2024
THEME: “VALUING TEACHER VOICES: TOWARDS A NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT FOR EDUCATION”
THE GUEST OF HONOUR
FELLOW EDUCATORS,
ESTEEMED TEACHERS,
GUEST OF HONOUR, DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
TODAY, WE COME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE THE REMARKABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TEACHERS CONTINUE MAKING IN THIS COUNTRY AND BEYOND TOWARDS HUMAN AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENET. ON THIS SIGNIFICANT OCCASION OF THE WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY WHOSE THEME IS AND I QUOTE “VALUING TEACHER-VOICES: TOWARDS A NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT FOR EDUCATION,” THE TEACHING COUNCIL OF ZAMBI (TCZ) IS PROUD TO BE PART OF THIS SHARED MILESTONE OF ADVANCING EDUCATION-PROVISION FOR THE COUNTRY. THIS YEAR’S THEME RESONATES SUFFICIENTLY WITH THE MISSION STATEMENT OF THE TEACHING COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA WHICH IS ‘’TO PROMOTE TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM FOR QUALITY EDUCATION.’’ THE THEME IN THIS REGARD SERVES AS A REMINDER OF OUR COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY TO RECOGNIZE, APPRECIATE, AND AMPLIFY THE VOICES OF THOSE WHO STAND AT THE FOREFRONT OF SHAPING THE MINDS AND FUTURES OF LEARNERS WHO ARE THE TOUCH BEARERS OF TOMORROWS NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
GUEST OF HONOUR, DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
AS TCZ, OUR MANDATE IS TO REGULATE TEACHERS, THEIR PRACTICE, AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT, ENSURING THAT THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF TEACHING AND ETHICAL BEHAVIUOR ARE UPHELD. THIS MANDATE IS NOT MERELY ABOUT SETTING TIGHT RULES FOR TEACHERS, BUT IT IS MORE ABOUT FOSTERING AN ENVIRONMENT THAT NURTURES TEACHER PROFESSIONAL GROWTH AND PERFORMANCE FOR THE MEANINGFUL BENEFIT OF THE NATION AT LARGE.
FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE, IT SHOULD BE ACKNOWLEDGED AND APPRECIATED THAT TEACHERS ARE NOT JUST MERE EDUCATORS, BUT IN ADDITION THEY ARE MENTORS, PARENTS, ASSESSORS , DISCIPLINARIANS, LIFE COACHES AND ABOVE ALL ROLE MODELS ALWAYS REFLECTING AND RADIATING THE IMAGE OF SOCIETY AT LARGE. FOR THIS REASON‘’ DEAR TEACHERS, YOU ARE GREAT, SPECIAL AND CRITICAL IN THE EQUATION OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ”.
GUEST OF HONOUR, DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
THE TCZ APPEAL THEN TO THE TEACHERS THROUGH TEACHER UNION IS, WE NEED A CONSOLIDATED TEACHER-VOICE RATHER THAN SPLIT VOICES. UNION LEADERS, KINDLY SEE IT NECESSARY TO SIT DOWN AROUND THE TABLE TO START AND CONTINUE DIALOGUING DIFFERENTLY ON MATTTERS THAT AFFECT TEACHERS AND THE TEACHING PROFESSION IN ZAMBIA. ‘’TEACHER UNIONS, YOU ARE GREAT, SPECIAL AND CRITICAL AND YOUR ROLE SO IMPORTANT’’ BUT ONLY WHEN YOU PACKAGE YOUR AGENDA COLLECTIVELY AND CORRECTLY. GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO LISTEN TO ONE VOICE, NOT SEVERAL VOICES AS THE CASE MAY BE AT THE MOMENT.
GUEST OF HONOUR, DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
THE TEACHING COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA, IN COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR, IS AWARDING THIRTY-THREE (33) TEACHERS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THESE AWARDS ARE GRANTED TO THOSE TEACHERS WHO ARE FULLY COMPLIANT IN TERMS OF TEACHER REGISTARTION, PRACTSISING LICENCE AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN CPD AT SCHOOL LEVEL.
GUEST OF HONOUR, DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
THE AWARDS ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO CATEGORIES: FIRSTLY, THE TCZ/UNESCO AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED TO 20 TEACHERS, AND SECONDLY, THE TCZ/UNICAF UNIVERSITY AWARDS FOR 13 TEACHERS FROM BOTH THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS NATIONWIDE.
AS PART OF THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH UNESCO, THE TEACHING COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA HAS PRODUCED A DOCUMENTARY THAT CAPTURES THE VOICES OF SOME OF THE TEACHERS, ALIGNING WITH THIS YEAR’S THEME.
GUEST OF HONOUR, DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE TEACHER-AWARDS FORMAT, THE TEACHING COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA WILL SHARE A CONCEPT NOTE WITH STAKEHOLDERS ON HOW BEST WE CAN CELEBRATE TEACHERS’ CONTRIBUTIONS. WE HAVE LEARNT FROM SOME COUNTRIES, ESPECIALLY IN WEST AFRICA WHERE GOVERNMENT AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL ENGAGES THE CORPORATE WORLD (PRIVATE SECTOR) AND OTHER STAKHOLDERS TO ANNUALLY COMMIT TO TEACHER AWARDS IN A VERY SPECIAL WAY. I ALSO WISH TO APPEAL THAT SINCE TEACHERS’ DAY IS AN ANNUAL EVENT, LET’S ROUTINELY PLAN EARLY BY STARTING WITH THE REVEAL OF THE IMMEDIATE PAST EVENT.
GUEST OF HONOUR, DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
TO STRENGTHEN A CULTURE OF COLLABORATION, THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND THE TCZ WITH SUPPORT FROM UNESCO IN 2019 DEVELOPED THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK ON SOCIAL DIALOGUE FOR TEACHERS IN ZAMBIA. THIS DOCUMENT IS KEY AS IT GUIDES HOW TEACHERS, EDUCATION ADMINISTRATORS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS CAN BE ENGAGEING TO IDENTIFY ISSUES OF COMMON INTEREST AFFECTING EDUCATION. THE SOCIAL DIALOGUE CONCEPT NEEDS TO BE EMBRACED BY ALL. BY SO DOING, TEACHER’S’ VOICES WILL BE HEARD. THE MOE, THE, TSC, THE TCZ AND TEACHER-UNIONS NEED TO ADVANCE THE SOCIAL DIALOGUE AGENDA. UNESCO SHOULD ONCE AGAIN COME ALONG TO HELP US GET TO ANOTHER LEVEL IN IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK ON SOCIAL DIALOGUE FOR TEACHERS IN ZAMBIA.
GUEST OF HONOUR, DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
ALLOW ME TO HIGHLIGHT SOME MILESTONES AT THE COUNCIL. HONOURABLE MINISTER THAT WITH YOUR OFFICE’S SUPPORT AND THE TEACHER’S COOPERATION, TCZ HAS COMPLETED THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MODERN TWO-STOREY OFFICE BUILDING (TEACHER HOUSE) SITUATED ALONG LAKE-RAOD, OPPOSITE CHIBELO PRIMARY SCHOOL, IN KABULONGA AREA, LUSAKA. THIS IS THE TCZ HEADQUARTERS. THE TEACHER HOUSE WILL VERY SOON BE COMMISSIONED BY THE HONORABLE MINISTER OF EDUCATION.
FURTHER I WISH ON BEHALF OF THE COUNCIL TO COMMEND GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION FOR ZAMBIA TO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY HOSTED THE 11TH AFRICA FEDERATION OF TEACHING REGULATORY AUTHORITIES (AFTRA) TEACHING AND LEARNING CONFERENCE FROM 7TH TO 10 TH MAY, 2024 AT THE MULUNGUSHI INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE. THE OCASSION WAS A GREAT SUCCESS OWING TO THE MASSIVE SUPPORT CABINET OFFICE RENDERED. AT THIS CONFERENCE, 22 COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING. HIS EXCELLENCY, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA DR. HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, WHO WAS REPRESENTED BY THE VICE PRESIDENT MRS. W.K. MUTALE NALUMANGO OFFICATED AT THIS EVENT. THE 2025 AFTRA CONFERENCE WILL BE HOSTED BY ANGOLA, OUR NEIGHBORING COUNTRY.
THE TCZ HAS ALSO CONDUCTED ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS COUNTRY-WIDE AIMED AT REVEWING THE TEACHING PROFESSION ACT NO 5 OF 2013. OUT OF THIS PROCESS, WE WILL SOON SEE A NEW ACT TO GUIDE THE FUNCTIIONS AND OPERATIONS OF THE TCZ. AND WE WISH TO COMMEND CABINET FOR APPROVING THE EXECUTION OF THIS PROCESS.
GUEST OF HONOUR, DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
IN CLOSING, AS TCZ, WE EXTEND THE APPRECIATION TO ALL THE TEACHERS WHO HAVE DEDICATED THEIR LIVES TO NURTURING THE NEXT GENERATION. TO YOU ALL OUR TAECHERS, YOUR DEDICATION, RESILIENCE, AND COMMITMENT TO DUTY INSPIRE THE NATION. THE TEACHING COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA WILL STAND WITH YOU TOWARDS CREATING AN EDUCATION SYSTEM THAT VALUES, RESPECTS, AND EMPOWERS EVERY TEACHER IN ORDER TO ACTUALISE A NEW AND IMPACTFUL CONTRACT FOR EDUCATION.
THANK YOU, AND A HAPPY 2024 WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY!
