TEMPORARY POSTS AS 75 TEACHERS JOIN ELECTIONS

MBABANE – Election of teachers into Parliament is likely to create jobs for graduates in the profession.

Currently, about 70 teachers applied for leave of absence from the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) in order to fully participate in the ongoing national elections.

This means that about 70 vacancies have been created and would have to be filled as soon as possible.
Simanga Mamba, the Chairman of the TSC, confirmed that the commission had received about 70 applications of leave of absence from teachers who aspire to join politics.

Mamba said the commission was fully supportive of the aspiring candidates. He said it was for that reason the commission approved the granting of their leave of absence, to make sure they fully participated in the elections.
Mamba stated that the commission would hire temporary teachers to replace the candidates during the course of the elections to ensure that performances were not affected in schools.

“In as much as we want free and fair as well successful elections, we also want good results in schools,” Mamba said.
He said the contracts of the temporary teachers would be determined by the fate of the aspiring politicians, as elections were conducted in stages.
“Teachers should not be worried about their jobs since government made it a standard procedure that employees apply for the leave of absence during elections. The leave of absence is guaranteed as long as teachers qualify for the positions they are contesting for,” he said.

Mamba made an example that some contracts would be valid until the Primary Elections and Secondary Elections where the fate of the teachers would be determined. He said some teachers were likely to be hired if the aspiring candidates won the elections.

The chairman stated that in schools where the head teachers contested the elections, the deputy head teachers would act in their positions to ensure that the administration of schools was not affected. If civil servants are elected into Parliament, it means that the candidates would be on unpaid leave for five years.
The chairman encouraged the teachers to return to their jobs immediately if they were eliminated in the elections process.

Teachers are not the only civil servants who showed interest in joining politics this year.
 Indicators had shown that police officers, warders, among other civil servants, had also shown interest in politics this year. The same happened during the 2013 elections where teachers contested and won the elections. Mabulala Maseko, who was a Head teacher, unseated former Maphalaleni MP Sicelo Dlamini. Mthokozini, Dlamini represented the electorates of Shiselweni II Constituency.

Other teachers who had, however, retired were Phineas Magagula, who ended up being appointed the Minister of Education and Training and Saladin Magagula.

Police officers who showed their faces were Sikhumbuzo Dlamini , Phesheya Hlatshwayo,  Frans Dlamini and David Ngcamphalala, who was appointed the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs.

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