NATIONAL Democratic Congress secretary general Mwenya Musenge says the recent recruitment of 3,000 teachers countrywide is scandalous. And Musenge has demanded that the government, through the Teaching Service Commission, must refund the over 70,000 applicants who were not picked their K571.20s.

“My concern is that when making the applications, each applicant was asked to pay a non-refundable fee of K571.20 to the Teaching Council of Zambia. There were about over 80,000 applicants elo mwasendapo fye (and you only pick) 3,000, over 76,000 bashala, elo mwabalila nama (remain and you eat their) K571.20 yabo,”he said.

“If the K571. 20 was applied to those that have been recruited for them to get the teaching licence, that is fine but you ask everyone, including those that will definitely not be picked to pay K571.20. This is a serious scandal; that’s a lot of money that has been chewed.”

Musenge, a former Copperbelt minister and PF Chimwemwe member of parliament, said there were so many colleges countrywide that were churning out teachers every year.

He said each province was only allocated 200 teachers.

“Copperbelt has 10 districts which means each district is allowed to recruit only 20 teachers. If you look at Kitwe, you produce 4,000 and you only employ 20 teachers,” Musenge said.

“You know abantu abali mu (those in) government, crookedness apali ponse nomba ico muleibila abantu cinshi (on everything, why are you stealing from people?) Our people are stressed so instead of trying to lighten their burdens, even the little they have is being taken away, yileshupa bakalamba (it’s difficult).”

He said people were scrounging to get the K571.20 for their children, hoping they would be recruited when it was going to be “chewed by those in government”.

Musenge also said almost all those who had been employed were relatives of those in government.

“I have just taken a research muno mwine mu (within) Kitwe. We asked a number of people who had applied, all of them have said they are not appearing (on the list of successful applicants). So these people who have been picked, they don’t know where they are coming from, they are coming from another planet,”

said Musenge.