GOVERNMENT’S NONCHALANCE COULD COST EDUCATION: BE IN DIALOGUE WITH HONESTY AND RESPECT.
The Education Hub with Benedicto Kondowe
John Dewey once stated that education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. His words firmly resonates with the recent paradox between government and teachers. When we thought that the resolve to keep schools operational was evident in the communique duly and mutually signed by the Ministry of Education and TUM, little did we know that the resolve was tainted with hypocrisy and dishonesty.
On the 8th of Match, government and Teacher’s Union of Malawi (TUM) reached a long awaited compromise as facilitated by the Joint Parliamentary Committee on education and social welfare leading to the suspension of the ongoing strike by the teachers across the country. The mutual addendum duly signed by government through the Ministry of Education and TUM agreed to provide the cash equivalent provision of personal protective equipment (PPEs) to teachers. Accordingly, government committed to determine the amount to TUM within one week. This, admittedly, was a commendable interim resolution between the two that best benefited the students.
However, while it was hoped that moving forward the government would be proactive in resolving concerns of teachers and continue open contact and dialogue, the government has simply swept this entire issue under the rug. To date, there is information blackout on steps that the ministry of education is taking to address the concerns. As feared by different stakeholders, government’s actions on the ground continue to fall short of the expected results.
As two weeks elapse since the aborted settlement, teachers are getting more and more agitated with government’s typical procedure of always over-promising yet with marginal delivery. In a twist of events as expected, through a letter dated 24th of March, The Presidential Taskforce on Covid — 19 has advised TUM through the Parliamentary Committee on Education that it has rejected that teachers should be provided with appropriate PPEs in Cash Costed Package as resolved. This is unfortunate because the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 was represented in the negotiations leading to the contingent settlement.
Leaders are only as good as their word, and the audacious way that government is treating the backbone of the education sector leaves a lot to be desired.
For years teachers have kept quiet, patiently hoping for a leadership that would understand their plight and take necessary administrative reforms to afford them the dignity they deserve. In most cases, the teaching community and relevant unions face resistance and various road blocks when they try to seek an audience with duty bearers. The impression portrayed is that they are not a deserving profession. Harsh memories are still afresh regarding how universities for years had struggled to defend their academic freedom.
Without endorsing the teacher’s stay away, it is however, crystal clear that teachers ‘plight is being met with disdain, indifference and contempt at all levels of management. It can’t be and surely, it ought not. Government must learn to get into the dialogue process with honesty and respect. The Dalai Lama vividly sums the significance of dialogue as follows: “The reality today is that we are all interdependent and have to co-exist on this small planet. Therefore, the only sensible and intelligent way of resolving differences and clashes of interests, whether between individuals or nations, is through dialogue.”
In this Covid-19 era, the continued unprecedented disruption of the education system is not only irreparable but also uncalled for. It must be cured in order to promote continuity of education. Every effort must be made to avoid the very obvious harm we are making to the education sector. The EduHub understands that demand for risk allowances was aborted during the dialogue on account that funding for the same would be a problem. Instead, we also understand that as a compromise, the meeting resolved that what was doable would be to covert the provision of PPEs to teachers as cash equivalent.
Simply put, the resolution meant merely transferring the obligation to procure PPEs from government to teachers themselves.
This sounded reasonable as it did not impose additional burden on government beyond its pre-existing commitments. Coincidentally, the settlement was made in the presence of the representatives of the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 who also participated in the discussion.
It should be recalled that the school closures due to the pandemic were already catastrophic enough on their own. I do not think that the current administration would have the will to see the education sector head to its death footprint. This is why the current stalemate vis-à-vis the teachers’ notice of resumption of a stay away must be diligently and expeditiously attended to. Government has powers within its hands to reverse this course of things.
To avoid any further disruptions that are becoming unprecedentedly pervasive, and ripping off the gains we ought to be making in the education sector, government needs to have proper strategies for handling teacher’s grievances. The issue of risk allowance is just one of the many issues that teachers have raised to government otherwise, we expect government to be on course in resolving issues of promotion, arrears, review of salaries and recruitment of teachers.
Engaging teachers in good faith and not as an afterthought offers the best benefits for averting disruptions. Even where parties disagree, they should do so with respect to allow room for further dialogue.
In conclusion, we urge both parties to give dialogue a chance. While we urge the ministry of education be the beacon of hope and provide the needed leadership, TUM should also soften its stance in pursuit of the common good. This will however require government to live up to its promises in future dealings with teachers. Dialogue that is pursued not in good faith is no dialogue at all.
Dialogue cannot exist without humility.
In the words of Sol Stein, dialogue is a lean language in which every word counts. Oliver Wendell Holmes teaches us that it is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.
