THE Tanzania Teachers Union (TTU) has called for immediate suspension of the ongoing process for the establishment of a Teachers’ Professional Board, proposing that its responsibilities should be left under the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) instead.
The call was announced at a news conference held in Dodoma by TTU President, Leah Ulaya who said the responsibilities to be undertaken by the Teachers’ Professional Board were similar to those being undertaken by TSC.
According to her, in 2019, TTU was invited to offer views on the establishment of the board, but their views were never considered when parliament passed the new law for the establishment of the board.
“In fact, we unanimously rejected the enactment of the law after going through it and found out that the board aimed at oppressing teachers instead of helping them,” she said.
According to Ms Ulaya, on Monday this week, union members were invited by Clerk of the National Assembly to meet the Parliamentary Committee on Subsidiary Legislation to give their views on the regulations for the establishment of the board.
“During this meeting, TTU stuck on their guns, rejecting the establishment of the new board, and instead we suggested that TSC be given more powers instead of establishing a board which will drain economies of teachers in the country.”
According to the Secretary General of the Union, Deus Seif, for the new board to operate on its daily activities, it was teachers who will end up spending their money to service its day-to-day operations.
“The running of this board shall depend on teachers’ money for their registration, licensing any yearly membership fee which is not less than 50,000/-,” he said.
He added: “teachers will also be required to foot bills for legal disputes when summoned by the board, pay the cost for seminars which ought to be provided every year, and failure to do so, their licences will be revoked by the board,”.