As the Southern African region commemorates Mental Health Awareness Month, alarming cases of mental health issues among local teachers have been flagged.
This was first pointed out by Ministry of Education and Training Principal Secretary Naniki Mnisi, who revealed that there was a glaring lack of mental health support for teachers in the country. Her statement has also been supported by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) as well as the Eswatini Schools Committee and Parents Association (ESCAPA), who revealed that mental health issues amongst teachers were directly related to heavy workload and poor pay.
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Other contributing factors included poor working conditions and lack of support for teachers who are experiencing personal challenges in life.
While the global Mental Health Awareness Month is in May, some organisations in Eswatini observe it at different times or focus on other related awareness events — such as October being Mental Health Awareness Month in Southern Africa and June for Men’s Mental Health Awareness.
During the ministry’s recent appearance before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), PS Mnisi said head teachers, Regional Education Officers (REOs), and education inspectors did not have the capacity to support teachers with mental health issues, resulting in them flocking to the ministry for assistance.
She said the support provided through the Public Sector HIV/AIDS Coordinating Committee (PSHACC) was not enough, as they were limited to ministries within their vicinity — yet teachers were deployed regionally, where some had no proper support to deal with mental health issues.
As such, the lack of mental health support has resulted in government losing over E1 million in payment of salaries for two teachers who were on prolonged sick leave, as flagged by the Auditor General (AG) Timothy Matsebula.
This was despite efforts made by the teachers, who both requested to retire on medical grounds due to mental illness reasons. This was revealed during the ministry’s appearance before the PAC, where the ministry was expected to provide responses for audit queries detailed in the compliance audit report for the government of the Kingdom of Eswatini for the financial year ended March 2024.
Pertaining to the payment of salary for the two teachers on prolonged sick leave, the AG informed the controlling officer that two officers, with employment numbers 4874641 and 4852892, continued to receive full salaries totalling E1 074 832.81.
Matsebula reported that the officers were on prolonged sick leave for periods of five years, seven months; and two years and four months respectively as at February 28, 2025. He said several correspondences between the ministry and the officers were found in their personal files; however, the matter remained unresolved, and both officers continued to draw full salaries.
The first teacher with employment number 4574641 was absent from July 2019 and continued to receive full pay for 67 months, and was overpaid a total salary of E717 583.60.
The officer had been away from the duty station after requesting to retire on medical grounds from the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) on July 10, 2019. Correspondence from the TSC dated September 29, 2020, instructed the officer to report to duty, failing which the contract would be terminated and salary stopped. However, the officer had not returned to work, salary not stopped, nor had there been any action taken against the officer.
The second teacher, with employment number 4852892, was absent for 28 months and was overpaid a salary amounting to E357 249.21.
The officer had been away from duty station after an unsuccessful request to retire on medical grounds from TSC on September 30, 2022. Matsebula reported that correspondence from the National Psychiatric Referral Hospital (NPRH) dated November 24, 2022, only indicated the officer’s condition.
The TSC had on November 19, 2024, requested the NPRH to re-evaluate the officer, to which there was no further correspondence. The officer still did not report for duty and continued to enjoy normal pay.
During the debate, Senior Auditor Mphumelelo Matimela revealed that the Government General Orders provided that if an officer is on sick leave, they are entitled to full salary for six months. He said after the six months lapsed, the officer was entitled to a further six months on half pay.
He added that after a year, the respective ministry was expected to report the matter to the medical board for evaluation and further guidance.
PS Mnisi acknowledged the seriousness of the query and admitted that failure to observe the general orders by cutting the officers’ salaries was a blunder on their side.
Teaching Services Commission Executive Secretary Nhlanhla Dlamini admitted that cases of mental health issues were of concern, stating that the teachers requested to retire on medical grounds, but the medical board ruled that they were still fit to continue working normal hours from 8am to 5pm.
He, however, said the officer with employment number 4852892 was eventually granted authority to retire on medical grounds in July 2025. However, the officer with employment number 4874641 was denied their request to retire on medical grounds, as the medical board ruled that they were still fit to work normal hours.
He said the medical experts advised them to provide support to the teachers with mental health issues while they continued to work and took their medication.
Ludzeludze MP Nomkhosi Masuku enquired why there was no consistency with regards to adhering to the general orders, as some officers’ salaries were cut by half when they were absent from duty for over six months. Her sentiments were shared by Kubuta MP Masiphula Mamba, who also stated that it appeared as if there was favouritism, as officers were not treated the same.
In response, PS Mnisi said this was a challenge for them as a ministry because some of the teachers who were deemed fit to continue working were problematic and abused pupils and their colleagues due to their mental illnesses.
She cited the case of the teacher who appeared at Sibaya and made a statement about ‘Incangancanga’, who was allowed to continue going to work and ended up being assigned to cleaning duties despite being hired to teach — proving the seriousness of the issue.
“Government does not take care of teachers with mental health issues. They end up coming to the ministry seeking help, and there is little we can do because we are not well capacitated,” she said.
She, however, said moving forward, they would engage the teachers’ families to find amicable solutions to avoid similar queries in future. She also admitted they would take more proactive measures to address concerns and adhere to the Government General Orders.
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