Honoraria for adult instructors adjusted upwards
By Tione Andsen
Ministry of Civic Education,Culture and Community Development Wednesday disclose that honoraria for adult literacy instructors in the country was revised upwards.
The Minister Responsible, Grace Chiumia made the revelation Wednesday during a Press briefing in Lilongwe as part of the preparation for the commemoration of InternationalLiteracyDay (ILD) which falls on September 8 every year.
She said the instructorshonoraria was raised from K1, 000 and K 5, 000 per month to K15, 000 for both Chichewa and English instructors last year in September.
“The Ministry will make sure the instructors receive their arears as token of appreciation on what they are doing in various communities by improving the literacy rate among men, women and youth,” Chiumia said.
The Minister pointed out that the honoraria would be paid through district Councils into the instructor’s personal bank accounts.
“You will agree with me that this demonstratesgovernment’scommitment towards the promotion of education for all particularly adult literacy and lifelong learning,” Chiumia stated.
She said adult literacy programme has increased the coverage of adult literacy service in the county with the opening of English classes.
“Currently we have 1,633 English classes for both male and female at the moment. My ministry facilitates the operation of 8,000 classes which target over 100,000 illiterates annually,” Chiumia added.
The Minister bemoaned the tendency of some men who are shunning adult literacy classes saying this is not encouraging to the development process of the country.
She appealed men to attend the classes saying in the long run it would be for their own benefit in uplifting their families.
Governmentspromotingskill development centres and community colleges as one way of fostering skills.
This year’s International Literacy Day isfocusing on youth empowerment and skills development as a commitment to achieveinclusive education.
This is done against the background that the number of illiterates continue to increase globally.
Literacy plays a vital role in facilitating betterunderstanding of issues combined with good skillsand it can promote economic stability in the county.
The Media need to do more to inform the public of the availability of adult literacy services and skills development initiatives in the country through their various outlets.
They should encourage the communities to patronize these services and demand such services from the District Councils through Village Development Committees (VDCs) where they are not available.
The Global theme for the day is “Literacy and skills development,” and the event will be held at Manyamula Skills development Centre ground on September 8, 2018-Mana
