Deputy minister of Education and Vocational Training, Phillipo Mulugo

Deputy minister of Education and Vocational Training Phillipo Mulugo has instructed the headmaster of Ugombolwa secondary school to submit official explanation on disciplinary measures taken against irresponsible teachers at the school.

The directive was issued after the deputy minister paid a surprise visit to the school over the weekend in Segerea ward, Dar es Salaam region, where he found only 10 teachers in the school instead of 29 who had been posted to teach there.

“Some students have told me that some teachers wear earphones while teaching, so I decided to visit and see for myself,” he said.

He said the habit of teachers putting on ear phones and listening to music while teahing bothered students as it disoriented them.

Ugombolwa students gave an example of their English teacher who has allegedly been regularly putting on ear phones in class.

A form one student who preferred anonymity said the English teacher spends only five minutes in class, thus failing to understand the subject while it is the medium of instruction for other subjects.

“Some teachers have not been teaching at all some subjects such as English, History and Kiswahili,” she said.

The headmaster, Simon Machiya, for his part, told the minister that 19 teachers supposed to be teaching at the school were absentees and measures had already been taken to suspend their salaries.

“The English subject teacher who goes to class putting on ear phones is apparently not mentally stable because sometimes he goes to class wearing a pair of shorts,” he said.