NAQEZ’s Aaron Chansa tags Zambian teacher Indebtedness, ‘a time bomb’
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NAQEZ Executive Director Aaron Chansa
NAQEZ’s Aaron Chansa tags Zambian teacher Indebtedness, ‘a time bomb’
By George Sinkala in Lusaka, Lusaka Province and Derrick Sinjela in Kasama, Northern Province
HURT by an increasing debt burden among teachers, National Action for Quality Education (NAQEZ) Executive Director Aaron Chansa says the time to empower Zambian teachers is now and not tomorrow.
A distraught Mr. Chansa implored all banks, lending organizations, the Teaching Council of Zambia and ‘Teacher Unions’ to significantly invest in financial literacy education of teachers in Zambia.
A worried Chansa says as a cross-section of interest groups continue to press for upgrading of salary scales for deserving teachers and confirmations in substantive positions, NAQEZ is appealing to Government to fulfill promises of debt swaps for teachers and all civil servants.
“”If well done, this initiative has the capacity to rescue thousands of our debt trapped and impoverished public service workers. We also call upon all teacher unions to take up this noble and crucial duty to prioritize and give financial and entrepreneurial literacies among their languishing members,” noted Chansa at a NAQEZ Press Conference to launching a ‘National Campain Against Heavy Indebtedness Among Zambian Teachers’ on Thursday, 3rd June, 2021 at Zamcom Lodge, Church Road in Lusaka.
Addressing a launch withnesed by National Executive Committee, Provincial and District leaders and partner organisations, Chansa restated a
NAQEZ vow promoting the welfare of teachers and quality education in Zambia.
“We have called this Press Conference to address a critical issue that has terribly ravaged our teachers across the country-personal high indebtedness. Our survey has revealed that more than 90% public service teachers are heavily indebted, their pay slips are chocked.They owe banks , financial institutions and individual money lenders a lot of money. The above has negatively affected teachers and has direct effects on the delivery of lessons in classes. It has further adversely impacted households, creating untold disharmonies which has undoubtedly lowered productivity,” cried Chansa.
Chansa regretted that most if not all teachers are resorting to borrowing as a means of survival.
“Because of owing too much, they cannot make economic ends meet but become unable to concentrate on teaching, always looking for ways away from the classroom to cover for their insignificant net pays. This sad state of affairs must be of great concern to the Banks, the Teaching Service Commission, the Ministry of General Education, the Public Service Management Division, parents and Civil Society Organizations. We must all get worried because teachers are the engines that drive the education system. Whatever affects this engine vandalizes the quality of education in the country. And no country can develop with poor quality of education,” admonished Chansa.
Chansa says reasons for the disturbing indebtedness among teachers in Zambia vary.
“While we shall prescribe immediate and medium term solutions, the lasting and long term solution to this social and economic cancer, in our highly considered view, is empowering teachers with financial literacy skills. Currently, financial literacy among teachers is terribly low. Financial literacy is the cognitive ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills including debt management, saving, planning and investment. It is a powerful foundation of one’s relationship with money. Finacial literacy enables people to clearly understand what is needed to achieve a lifestyle that is financially and socially balanced, sustainable, ethical and productive. It is indeed a life skill that one must grasp for good financial well-being. Lack of financial literacy affects one’s ability to provide for themselves, family, and community and impairs attitudes towards money and investments,” protested Chansa.
To mitigate against this ugly state of affairs among Zambia’s teaching human resource, the teachers, Chansa viewed a national campaign against indebtedness among teachers as a step toward sustainable living.
“From today, teachers should look out for our electronic and physical financial literacy literature and seminars in districts, provincial centers and at national level. Once we equip teachers with financial literacy skills, we strongly believe that they will borrow economically and make better and beneficial financial decisions, they will effectively manage money and debt, will greatly be equipped to reach their financial goals, will reduce expenses through superior planning and regulation and will have less financial stress and anxiety.
As NAQEZ, we cannot fold our arms and allow our teachers get stuck into this financial ruin,” reiterated Chansa.
Stated Chansa: “We refuse to see teachers hanged at the altar of unbearable and toxic debt. For some of our teachers, because of debt, committing suicide becomes an option.
Having laid bare the danger that financial debt has brought to our hard working teachers, we now ask ,”Why are banks, lending institutions ,Government and teacher unions not shaken about this sad reality?” we ask again,” why is it that banks charge very high interest rates without rendering financial literacy education to these struggling servants?” We continue to ask why trade Unions are not interested in equipping their members with financial management skills, and why the Teaching Council of Zambia cannot include financial management data into the CPD of teachers”.
Chansa says as NAQEZ embarks on the mammoth exercise of empowering teachers with important financial literacy and debt management skills, implored banks and lending institutions to join the campaign.
“These institutions have a corporate moral responsibility to provide financial literacy to their clients,” prodded Chansa. …read a full statement below:
NAQEZ Press Conference to launch a National Campain Against Heavy Indebtedness Among Zambian Teachers Thursday, 3rd June, 2021 Venue: Zamcom Lodge, Lusaka Time:09:30hrs
NAQEZ National Executive Committee members,
NAQEZ Provincial leaders District leaders and members,
NAQEZ partner organizations,
Members of the press, and Ladies and gentlemen.
As an organization which promotes welfare of teachers and quality education in Zambia, we have called this press conference to address a critical issue that has terribly ravaged our teachers across the country-personal high indebtedness. Our survey has revealed that more than 90% public service teachers are heavily indebted, their pay slips are chocked.
They owe banks , financial institutions and individual money lenders a lot of money. The above has negatively affected teachers and has direct effects on the delivery of lessons in classes. It has further adversely impacted households, creating untold disharmonies which has undoubtedly lowered productivity.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today, most teachers are resorting to borrowing as a means of survival.
Because of owing too much, they cannot make economic ends meet but become unable to concentrate on teaching, always looking for ways away from the classroom to cover for their insignificant net pays.
This sad state of affairs must be of great concern to the Banks, the Teaching Service Commission, the Ministry of General Education, the Public Service Management Division, parents and Civil Society Organizations.
We must all get worried because teachers are the engines that drive the education system.
Whatever affects this engine vandalizes the quality of education in the country. And no country can develop with poor quality of education.
The reasons for this disturbing indebtedness among teachers in Zambia are various.
While we shall prescribe immediate and medium term solutions, the lasting and long term solution to this social and economic cancer, in our highly considered view, is empowering teachers with financial literacy skills.
Currently, financial literacy among teachers is terribly low.
Financial literacy is the cognitive ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills including debt management, saving, planning and investment. It is a powerful foundation of one’s relationship with money.
Finacial literacy enables people to clearly understand what is needed to achieve a lifestyle that is financially and socially balanced, sustainable, ethical and productive. It is indeed a life skill that one must grasp for good financial well-being.
Lack of financial literacy affects one’s ability to provide for themselves, family, and community and impairs attitudes towards money and investments.
To mitigate against this ugly state of affairs among our most important human resource, the teachers, NAQEZ is today announcing a national campaign against indebtedness among teachers.
From today, teachers should look out for our electronic and physical financial literacy literature and seminars in districts, provincial centers and at national level.
Once we equip teachers with financial literacy skills, we strongly believe that they will borrow economically and make better and beneficial financial decisions, they will effectively manage money and debt, will greatly be equipped to reach their financial goals, will reduce expenses through superior planning and regulation and will have less financial stress and anxiety.
As NAQEZ, we cannot fold our arms and allow our teachers get stuck into this financial ruin.
We refuse to see them hanged at the altar of unbearable and toxic debt. For some of our teachers, because of debt, committing suicide becomes an option.
Having laid bare the danger that financial debt has brought to our hard working teachers, we now ask ,”why are banks, lending institutions ,Government and teacher unions not shaken about this sad reality?” we ask again,” why is it that banks charge very high interest rates without rendering financial literacy education to these struggling servants?” we continue to ask why trade Unions are not interested in equipping their members with financial management skills, and why the Teaching Council of Zambia cannot include financial management data into the CPD of teachers.
In our view, this matter is a time bomb and we humbly ask all stakeholders not to bury their heads in the proverbial sand. Time to act is now.
Friends from the media and through you the nation, as we embark on this mammoth exercise of empowering our teachers with important financial literacy and debt management skills, we again invite all banks and lending institutions to join us.
These institutions have a corporate moral responsibility to provide financial literacy to their clients.
We also call upon all teacher unions to take up this noble and crucial duty to prioritize and give financial and entrepreneurial literacies among their languishing members.
Ladies and gentlemen, as we continue to press for upgrading of salary scales for deserving teachers as well as confirmations in substantive positions, we appeal to Government to fulfill the promise of debt swaps for teachers and all civil servants.
If well done, this initiative has the capacity to rescue thousands of our debt trapped and impoverished public service workers.
Lastly but very important, all banks, lending organizations, the Teaching Council of Zambia and all teacher Unions are hereby called upon to significantly invest in financial literacy education of teachers in Zambia.
The time to empower our teachers is now and not tomorrow.
Thank you so much all for you attention. God bless you all and our beautiful Country. THANK YOU!
Issued by: Aaron Chansa
NAQEZ Executive Director
+260979 552885
