Ministry of education has cautioned that it will start removing on payroll teachers who are constantly absconding their duties.

The warning follows an observation the Ministry has made that some teachers in primary and secondary public schools are absenting from school up to a month without valid reasons.

According to Secretary for Education Chikondano Mussa, it is worrying to note that such teachers are left scot free and still receive their wages despite not working.

He said: “I asked that why is it that when a teacher absconds for five days and there is a clear regulation on that that when they abscond for five days then they are out of employment.

“Why should government continue paying people who are not working? So, when one absconds without valid reasons, we need to start striking off such teachers from the payroll, we can’t continue like this.”

Going forward, Mussa has threatened that it is high time that the concerned teachers are automatically struck out on payroll because the tendency it is against government’s education system.

“Why is that there are teachers out there who absent themselves from work for up to a month there and then nothing is happening, we don’t get to know about these things, but the head teachers do report, sometimes Primary Education Advisors (PEAs) do report, but somewhere there is no follow up.

“For the education system to be a vibrant system we need to follow rules and regulations, we need to abide by the regulations,” Mussa said.