COPPERBELT MINISTER QUESTIONS STAFFING IMBALANCE AS RURAL SCHOOLS STRUGGLE https://youtu.be/uN8h0pPd0Ss Copperbelt Province Minister Emmanuel Kasambo has raised concern over what he describes as a serious imbalance in the distribution of teachers, revealing that approximately 1,200 teachers in Kitwe and more than 300 in Ndola are reportedly on the government payroll while rural schools continue to Copperbelt Minister says 1,500 teachers in Kitwe and Ndola are being paid for doing nothing while rural districts face serious teacher shortages. COPPERBELT MINISTER QUESTIONS STAFFING IMBALANCE AS RURAL SCHOOLS STRUGGLE https://youtu.be/uN8h0pPd0Ss Copperbelt Province Minister Emmanuel Kasambo has raised concern over what he describes as a serious imbalance in the distribution of teachers, revealing that approximately 1,200 teachers in Kitwe and more than 300 in Ndola are reportedly on the government payroll while rural schools continue to Copperbelt Minister Emmanuel Kasambo has raised concern over teacher distribution, claiming that about 1,200 teachers in Kitwe and more than 300 in Ndola are on the payroll while rural schools face shortages.COPPERBELT MINISTER QUESTIONS STAFFING IMBALANCE AS RURAL SCHOOLS STRUGGLE https://youtu.be/uN8h0pPd0Ss Copperbelt Province Minister Emmanuel Kasambo has raised concern over what he describes as a serious imbalance in the distribution of teachers, revealing that approximately 1,200 teachers in Kitwe and more than 300 in Ndola are reportedly on the government payroll while rural schools continue to

COPPERBELT MINISTER QUESTIONS STAFFING IMBALANCE AS RURAL SCHOOLS STRUGGLE

Copperbelt Province Minister Emmanuel Kasambo has raised concern over what he describes as a serious imbalance in the distribution of teachers, revealing that approximately 1,200 teachers in Kitwe and more than 300 in Ndola are reportedly on the government payroll while rural schools continue to experience shortages.

The revelation has brought renewed attention to the distribution of public resources in the education sector, particularly the apparent concentration of teaching personnel in urban centres at the expense of rural communities.

The Minister’s concern is that while government continues to pay teachers, some rural schools are struggling to provide adequate teaching staff, leaving pupils in remote communities at a disadvantage.

The situation raises questions about teacher deployment, transfers, accountability and the management of the public service payroll.

Urban schools have more teachers than they need

According to the figures disclosed by Kasambo, Kitwe accounts for approximately 1,200 teachers identified in the staffing imbalance, while Ndola has more than 300.

The figures point to a substantial concentration of teachers in the two major Copperbelt cities.

The Minister’s concern is not simply the number of teachers employed, but whether those receiving salaries are serving in the schools and locations where their services are required.

He has pointed to a situation in which some teachers were initially recruited and deployed to rural schools but later moved to urban centres, leaving the institutions they were assigned to struggling with staffing shortages.

In some instances, teachers are reportedly physically based in urban areas while remaining attached to rural schools for payroll purposes.

This raises questions about whether staffing records accurately reflect where teachers are actually working.

Rural schools bear the consequences

The imbalance has implications for children in rural communities.

While some urban schools reportedly have more teachers than their approved establishment requires, rural schools face difficulties providing adequate teaching personnel.

Some rural teachers are expected to handle several classes or grades, increasing their workload and potentially affecting the quality of instruction.

The challenge is particularly concerning in communities where access to education is already affected by long distances, inadequate infrastructure and limited resources.

For parents in these areas, the shortage of teachers is not an administrative statistic. It can mean children attending schools where one teacher is responsible for multiple classes, or where certain subjects cannot be adequately taught.

The situation also raises questions about the equitable distribution of teachers recruited using public funds.

Kasambo orders redistribution exercise

Speaking during the Nsengele Kununka Traditional Ceremony of the Bulima people under Chief Machiya in Mpongwe District, Kasambo directed the Copperbelt Provincial Permanent Secretary, Provincial Education Officer and District Education Board Secretaries to undertake a comprehensive assessment of teacher distribution.

The directive covers urban centres including Kitwe, Ndola, Mufulira and Chingola.

According to reports, the provincial authorities have been given one week to identify schools with excess staffing and establish where teachers are currently serving compared with their official deployment and payroll records.

The Minister wants teachers who were recruited for rural schools but subsequently moved to urban areas without proper justification to be accounted for and, where appropriate, redeployed.

He warned that teachers who refuse lawful transfers could face disciplinary action in accordance with the law.

The bigger question: Are public resources being properly utilised?

The issue goes beyond the Copperbelt.

Zambia has invested in recruiting additional teachers in recent years, but recruitment alone cannot resolve shortages if the available workforce is not distributed according to actual school needs.

In October 2026, a contribution in Parliament by an MP also highlighted the problem of rural schools operating without teachers despite the recruitment exercise. The MP cited Kabompo West Constituency, where some newly constructed schools reportedly had no teachers, while some teachers were concentrated along the line of rail.

This suggests that the challenge of teacher distribution requires attention beyond one province.

The Ministry of Education and provincial administrations face the task of ensuring that recruitment, deployment, transfers and payroll records are properly coordinated.

A teacher employed to serve a rural community cannot effectively address that community’s shortage if they are working elsewhere without an authorised transfer.

What needs to happen next?

The Copperbelt redistribution exercise will need more than a list of teachers and schools.

Authorities will have to establish the approved staffing levels of individual schools, verify the physical presence of teachers, examine transfer records and determine whether those currently serving in urban areas have valid reasons for their deployment.

They will also need to consider the circumstances of teachers, including family responsibilities, health considerations and other legitimate grounds for transfer requests.

The exercise should be guided by transparent staffing assessments rather than arbitrary movements.

The government should also make public the findings of the exercise, including how many teachers were found to be working outside their assigned stations, how many schools were understaffed and what corrective action was taken.

For parents and pupils in rural communities, the ultimate measure of success will not be the number of teachers transferred, but whether more classrooms finally have teachers.

The issue now is whether the Minister’s directive will translate into a more equitable distribution of teachers across the Copperbelt and ensure that public resources are delivering the education services for which they are intended.

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