Adventist education conscious of teachers’ accommodation

The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s education department considers teachers’ accommodation when appointing teachers to its schools, associate education director Dorcas  Kuma says
“Adventist education believes in caring for the teachers. We believe that the teachers are the core to anything that happens in the school every day so we actually go out of our way to help where we can,” she said.
“Most of our schools have institutional houses, even our primary schools have houses.”
Kuma said Adventist schools appoint teachers at locations nearest to the schools, subsidise rentals or have houses in the institutions.
The Teaching Service Act 1988 states that “the supply of housing is not a condition of service for members of the Teaching Service”, however, subsection of the act clearly states that “housing is the responsibility of governing bodies and education agencies to ensure that within the resources available to them there is adequate provision made for the supply and maintenance of teacher housing”.
“In other words, school boards and education agencies such as church education agencies, provincial and National Education Board are responsible for making available housing  for every approved position in their schools before  a teacher is  appointed to a position,” Teaching Service Commission chairman Baran Sori said.
“No teacher should be appointed to a teaching position if there is no house attached to that position.”
Education Secretary Dr Uke Kombra in a statement said housing for teachers was one of department’s concerns.
“We are grateful to school governing bodies, church agencies, district and provincial authorities who make efforts to provide houses for teachers.”