CABINET has approved the Teaching Profession Bill of 2025, which mandates licensure examinations for newly trained teachers.
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This significant legislative step aims to elevate the quality of education across the country by ensuring that only competent and qualified individuals enter the profession.
Speaking at a briefing in Lusaka today, Minister of Information Cornelius Mweetwa said the licensure exam will assess the knowledge, skills, and professional competencies of prospective teachers, ensuring that only the best educators enter the classrooms and impact the learning outcomes of pupils.
He further elaborated that the Bill will maintain the Teaching Council while updating its roles and responsibilities and revamping its board’s structure and functions.
Mweetwa highlighted that the current Teaching Professional Act of 2013 has proven insufficient for regulating the teaching profession due to its parallel disciplinary structures for teachers in both the public and private sectors.
“The current act is not comprehensive in regulating the conduct and practice of teachers because it has created two separate disciplinary systems for teachers working in public and private institutions, which has made it challenging to enforce standards of professionalism across the profession as a whole.”
“The introduction of licensure exams, once this Bill is enacted, will greatly enhance the quality, assurance, and professionalism of the teaching profession. It will also provide a single disciplinary structure for all teachers regardless of whether they are employed in the public or private sector,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mweetwa added that President Hakainde Hichilema has directed the Ministries of Education and Health to review fees levied on graduates, particularly those who have not yet secured employment.
This directive follows numerous citizen complaints regarding these charges, which are perceived as unreasonable and an undue burden on young people.
Furthermore, Cabinet has also approved the introduction and publication of the Lands and Registry Amendment Bill of 2025 in Parliament.
This Bill seeks to empower the Chief Registrar with the authority to nullify land title certificates, addressing a current limitation in the Land and Registry Act Cap 185, where the Registrar of Lands and Deeds can only correct errors or omissions in the register.
By Sharon Zulu
Kalemba, July 3, 2025
