Teacher competency to be upgraded in US$50M project -Jeffrey reiterates
Stabroek News
October 7, 2002
Education Minister Dr Henry Jeffrey says that when a US$50M project gets underway next year it will upgrade teacher competency and many will be trained - some up to the master's level.
In a message to mark International Teacher's Day yesterday, Jeffrey said the Basic Education Access Management Support programme will be implemented next year and will boost teacher competency "to deal with one of the ministry's main goals, namely the radical improvement in literacy and numeracy skills among our primary school children". He said he hoped that teachers will take up all available opportunities and added that the "onus is still upon each of us to seek our own self-development; to adequately prepare ourselves for the task of teaching and managing".
He contended that the inability of the government to pay huge salary increases has been acknowledged but posited that innovative means could be found to improve conditions. "In this regard, the ministry is working with the GTU (the Guyana Teachers Union) to devise a three-year strategy that should provide a better basis for teachers to be able to plan their lives", he said. Jeffrey recognised that teacher migration remains a problem and argued that teachers must also be cognisant of their obligations and honour them. "They must show commitment to all our children and to the task of teaching and to being good role models by among other things being regular, punctual and well-prepared", he admonished.
Noting that another major objective of the education system is to help build a plural society in which the various cultural heritages flourish, Jeffrey urged teachers to instill in their charges a sense of social consciousness that respects and seeks to uphold the rights of all.