CITIZENS FIRST PROMISES TO ABSORB ALL QUALIFIED TEACHERS

 

Lusaka, 3rd May, 2026.

 

The Teaching Service Commission has confirmed what Zambians feared: over 50,000 qualified teachers have applied for only 2,000 available positions. That is 25 teachers fighting for 1 job.

 

This is not just a Teaching Service Commission problem,  This is a national emergency. You cannot train teachers for four years, certify them, then abandon them. A nation that does not employ its teachers is a nation that has given up on sustainable development.

 

Citizens First rejects the idea that “there are no jobs”. We know there are children without teachers. We know there are classrooms with 100 pupils. The problem is not lack of need. The problem is lack of planning and political will.

 

Citizens First Government will not just manage this crisis,  We will end it. Our plan is to absorb all qualified teachers into meaningful employment through four deliberate strategies.

 

* Within our first 100 days, we will direct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labour, and the Teaching Service Commission to activate bilateral labour agreements. Zambia has thousands of excess qualified teachers while countries like Rwanda, UAE, and China are actively recruiting English, Mathematics, and Science teachers. Our target is to negotiate government-to-government placements for 15,000 Zambian teachers as expatriates within two years. This keeps teachers working, builds international experience, and brings remittances home to support families. Kenya and Zimbabwe are already doing this. Zambia can do it too.

We will also launch “Operation 10,000 Classrooms” through public-private partnerships with churches, mines, farms, individuals, and private investors. There is urgent need to massively expand school infrastructure to decongest the few existing classrooms. The current teacher-pupil ratios in schools are unacceptable and no quality education is taking place under such conditions. Government will provide trained, salaried teachers and the national curriculum while partners provide infrastructure and operational support. This will reduce overcrowding and open new schools in every district.

To increase staffing levels in rural areas and provide financial relief and work experience to unemployed teachers, Citizens First Government will recruit more than 20,000 teachers on internship basis. These teachers will be placed on an agreed monthly allowance and will form the primary reservoir for permanent employment as positions open. No qualified teacher should sit at home when rural schools have no staff.

Finally, we will establish a national reskilling programme for teachers to align their qualifications with emerging economic needs. Through the Ministry of Technology and Education, we will sponsor training of teachers into high-demand fields such as EdTech content creation, Special Needs Education, Early Childhood Development, Coding instruction, Agriculture Education, and TEVET curriculum development. This ensures teachers have multiple career pathways and are protected from unemployment even when classroom positions are limited. A teacher trained by Zambia will never be wasted by Zambia.

To parents: Your children deserve a teacher and quality education, not excuses. We will not rest until every qualified teacher is working and every classroom has a teacher. The current administration has failed to employ these teachers and has shown no clear plan to absorb all trained graduates.

This is not a promise. This is a plan, and with the Citizens First Government, plans are not merely spoken rather implemented.

Issued by:

Cosmas Mukuka 

Member – Labour & Education Committee 

Citizens First