EXAM MARKERS WORK ON EMPTY STOMACHS

MBABANE – Are those marking the external examination papers doing so on empty stomachs?
This question begs for an answer after teachers who are currently marking Form V external examinations cried foul for not being given money for breakfast and lunch as per the agreement they had with the Examinations Council of Eswatini (ECESWA).

Information sourced was that in the past years, the teachers were provided with both breakfast and lunch.  According to some of the teachers, it has always been a norm during the marking process that they are granted 30 minutes to enjoy breakfast and an hour for lunch. However, things changed this year as they were informed that they would not be provided with food.

Money

“We were supposed to get money as per the council’s decision to provide the food but to date, we have not received any cent,” she said.
There is also a message that is believed to have been sent by ECESWA to the teachers, confirming that they were going to receive money as food allowances amounting to E88 per day both for their morning and lunch meals.
The message reflects to have been sent last Thursday while the marking process began on Sunday.

“This is a reminder to 2019 markers that food allowances of E88 per day will be paid instead of food provision during marking. This will be paid in advance during marking. Please provide banking details on first day of marking,” reads part of the message.
Another teacher stated that what was confusing was that they were not told how they were going to get the money, considering that it was not going to be a once-off payment since there was no stipulated time as to how long the marking would take.

Accounts

“They asked for our bank accounts and did not mention whether we were going to get the said money daily, weekly or monthly,” he said.  The teacher stated that marking started at 6am and would at times drag until 6pm, depending on the pile of papers one had to finish that day.
When ECESWA Registrar Edmund Mazibuko was called for a comment, he said they were still verifying some of the accounts, adding that some teachers had started receiving their money on Tuesday.

He went on to state that it was not everyone who had got the money but that the payments were being processed.
When asked about the schedule in which the teachers were going to receive money, Mazibuko said it was communicated with them.
“They know as they were told how they were going to get their money,” he said.

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