Close to 200 teachers died of stress-related illness
in Swaziland / eSwatini over two years. Four teachers a week were being buried
and another 100 were said to presently suffering. This was because of the
pressure teachers were forced to work under because of the economic meltdown in
the kingdom.
The Swaziland
News, an online publication, revealed the statistics
after an investigation. It said close to 200 teachers died in the two years up
March 2019. The Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) said it
buried four teachers a week who died of stress-related illness. SNAT also said
more than 100 teachers that it knew of were seeking psychological help because
of stress. The newspaper reported that the cause of the stress
was mainly the working conditions teachers faced. They were poorly paid and
overworked because there were so many unfilled teacher vacancies and they
lacked resources.
A source told the newspaper, ‘We are
the most frustrated professionals in the country yet parents and government
expect good results. Another thing, the government wants all children in
primary schools to pass, even those who fail, we are told to promote them to
the next class, it’s a huge crisis. When a teacher dies, those who remained
behind are loaded with extra duties as government has frozen hiring.’
Themba Masuku, the Swazi Deputy Prime Minister, said,
‘The economic situation is really bad.’ He said teachers’ leaders and the
Ministry of Education and Training should meet to prioritise spending.
Sikelela Dlamini, Secretary-General of SNAT, said, ‘The DPM
is talking “nonsense” by saying we must consult the Education Ministry to find
solutions on these issues, he knows that the Ministry has no capacity to
resolve these challenges. We can engage the Education Ministry, but nothing
will change, it is the central government that should prioritize education.’
The problem is not new as
the government, appointed by King Mswati
III the absolute monarch in Swaziland, has run the economy into the ground over
many years. Public services across the kingdom, including health, education and policing are crumbling. The government owes its suppliers
about E3 billion (US$215 million). Protests
from teachers and civil servants have taken place across the kingdom because government
has refused to fund cost-of-living salary adjustments. It says it does not have
the money.
Sikelela Dlamini told the Swaziland News, ‘When it’s
time to address issues affecting civil servants, government always claim there
is no money but it’s always available for royalty.’
The King and his extended family live lavish lifestyles. At
his 50th birthday in 2018 he wore a watch
worth US$1.6 million and a suit
beaded with diamonds that weighed 6 kg. Days earlier he
had taken delivery of his second private jet. This one, an Airbus A340, cost
US$13.2 to purchase but with VIP upgrades
was estimated to have cost US$30 million.
In 2017 King Mswati was named the third wealthiest
King in Africa by the international
website Business Insider.
It reported he had a net worth of US$200 million (about E2.8 billion in local
Swazi currency).
About seven in ten of the estimated 1.2 million
population of Swaziland live in abject poverty with incomes less than the
equivalent of US$2 per day.
This week, Welcome Mhlanga, President of the
Eswatini Principals Association (EPA), told the Times
of eSwatini (formerly Times of Swaziland), ‘Most
schools have not been paid their grants – free primary education (FPE) and
orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) – which are funded by government.’ He
warned teaching materials would not be available ahead of examinations.
In July 2019, Minister of
Education and Training Lady Howard-Mabuza met school principals. The government had not paid schools fees and
support staff were sacked as a result. Teaching supplies ran out and in some
schools pupils had been without a teacher for more than a year.
The Minister said that
plans for building new schools had been put on hold and hiring of teaching
staff was frozen.
More than
six in ten schools in Swaziland did not have enough teachers because of
government financial cutbacks, Welcome Mhlanga had previously said.
Howard-Mabuza said the
government was broke and could not afford to finance education.
See also
Swaziland
schools run out supplies, exams threatened, as govt financial meltdown bites
Swaziland
children forced to work as groundsmen as Govt delays funding their school
Chaos
and confusion across Swaziland as new school year starts
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/01/chaos-and-confusion-across-swaziland-as.html
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