Teachers’ should not ‘rob’ students of full education while uplifting themselves

Mar 31, 2012 News

– Chief Education Officer

Although it is imperative that teachers seek to upgrade themselves academically, it is equally important

Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam

that they do not rob students of a full educational experience. This notion was recently amplified by Chief Education Officer, Mr. Olato Sam.
In order to guard against such potential scenarios, Sam said that the Ministry of Education has subjected some teachers to the signing of contracts. This, he said, is a mechanism aimed at ensuring that teachers give what is due to the children they are tasked with teaching. “We want teachers to upgrade themselves yes, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that the children we teach are the ones who allow us to get a salary at the end of the month; it is them who legitimise our existence,” he passionately asserted.
In responding to concerns that teachers should not all be obligated to sign contracts once they do not attend classes during school hours, Sam noted that it is near impossible for teachers to attend certain classes at the University of Guyana (UG) in the field of Education after 16:00 hours.
“There is nobody who is doing an Education programme at UG that will be attending classes after four (16:00 hours)…impossible. So there has to be an understanding that once you would have taken that time, that deservedly should be theirs (students), then you have got to give something back,” the CEO insisted.
Sam in making his point revealed that during a visit to Region 10 it was discovered that a teacher was away from school for the entire final week in order to write exams at the University. In fact, he revealed that the teacher had sought and received permission for this absence from the Head of the school. “What about the children?” Sam queried even as he noted that “some people think it is okay to be on and off for four years, but what about the children…they think that a week here or a week there is okay and not be as committed to teaching but when we ask for one extra hour that is apparently too much to give back…We say come in and give us one hour on Saturday or after school but everybody sees that as too much.”
Meanwhile, Sam has revealed that the Ministry is on a mission to encourage public schools not only to embrace but to incorporate the concept of substitute and part-time teachers in the system with a view of ensuring that the ideal delivery of education is not hampered. According to Sam, “right now the Minister (Ms. Priya Manickchand) already has a proposal and she is just waiting for the go ahead to have substitute teachers in the schools.”
This move, according to Sam, is to ensure that every Grade A and B school is furnished with administrative support should the need arise. Several teachers have been raising concerns about lack of teachers to attend to some classes and according to Sam, “we have not been silent to your pleas and concerns. We have all of these papers prepared and the Minister is now committing to carrying them to Cabinet for approval to make sure that these things happen so you will get the additional support in your institution.”
This move is especially essential, Sam said, since it has been recognised that the school system has predominantly female teachers who are likely to require maternity leave and would therefore be away from duty for extended periods. During such periods “I would like to know we have substitute or part-time teachers there so that we can fill the gap particularly at the primary level,” he stressed.
This, however, is not to say that there is not a similar need at the secondary level, according to Sam, who pointed out that “I would like to remind the secondary schools that you can hire part-time teachers, something that many of our secondary schools do not do…Every single secondary school can hire part-time staff,” Sam insisted.
Part-time staff, he said, could become applicable when permanent teachers go off on Whitley Council leave, maternity leave or are required to be off due to medical emergencies. As such, Sam urged that teachers engage their respective head teachers during departmental meetings so that these measures could be incorporated in the school system and become a functional reality.
According to Sam, there is a structure for payment through the Ministry of Education for part-time teachers which does not apply to the regular teachers’ vacancies. He further expressed his belief that this mode of support will have to be incorporated in the system sooner rather than later in the secondary schools to help address reported teachers’ shortage. On the other hand, he noted that “for the substitute (teachers) I am concerned that we might have to focus on the primary level only because I feel that there is a greater harm in the teacher being out at the primary level when you have to distribute pupils into classes…so I really think the substitutes are needed at the primary level,” Sam asserted.