By KASONDE KASONDE  –
MORE than 100 teachers will not access their November salary for failure to change their pay-points after getting transfers, the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) has announced.
Early this month the Public Service Management Division warned that civil servants that have abandoned their rural postings can expect an ‘insufficient funds’ response when they visit the ATM at the end of November.
And so it has been done, 125 teachers will be left in panic at t various ATMs across the country as they attempt to withdraw their salaries.
TSC spokesperson Jane Mbambara said in a statement yesterday that it had authorised withholding of salaries for the 125 public workers who had been transferred to various stations, but had not normalised their pay-points.
“November salaries for the 125 teachers who transferred from rural districts to Lusaka would be withheld. The Commission earlier this year, issued a directive to all teachers who were transferred from various stations without normalising their pay-points to go back and offer their services in stations where their pay-points are, a directive which was sadly ignored,” Ms Mbambara said.
Ms Mbambara said the salaries would only be released once the affected teachers report back to their initial work stations.
She said TSC observed with sadness the high number of teachers who had relocated left rural districts while their pay-points were still in their previous stations.
Ms Mbambara said the situation had led to schools in Lusaka and other urban districts, being overstaffed at the expense of the needy schools in rural areas, thereby creating an artificial staff shortage.
She advised the affected teachers to report to the District Education Board Secretaries (DEBS) and have their cases reviewed.
Ms Mbambara urged all the concerned teachers to adhere to the Commission’s earlier call to report back to their initial work stations.
She said school managers had been directed not to recommend transfers for teachers without vacant payroll positions.