The caning of 16 primary school teachers by the police officers has sparked outrage in the education sector, with the teachers’ union threatening to take legal action against the ministry.
The teachers were reported to have been caned by the police after an inquiry into poor exam results at three schools, which the officials claimed teachers were not teaching the official syllabus and were failing to show up at work.
The Bukoba District Commissioner Albert Mnali allegedly ordered a police officer who was accompanying him during his official tour in the District last Wednesday to dispense four strokes of the cane each to 16 teachers for failure to execute their duties.
But Deputy Education Minister Mwantumu Mahiza termed the incident as “unfortunate and utterly absurd,” suggesting that Mr Mnali needed to be psychologically assessed for his unusual behavior.
“I really can’t believe that a sane senior government official can order the police to cane civil servants. There are procedures to be followed before a civil servant is punished,” Ms Mahiza said.
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