Government support to teachers crucial to realise quality education – EI President

Aug 15, 2013 News

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Even as the country celebrates the good results of the Caribbean Secondary Certificate Education (CSEC) Examination and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination which were on Tuesday unveiled, there is still need for more focus to be given to teachers in the achievement of such successes.
In fact according to President of Education International (EI), Ms Susan Hopgood, teachers must be recognised as the key to quality education and are the ones who are the most instrumental in achieving education for all.

“But, in order for this very important work to be sustained, teachers must be aptly supported”, said Hopgood, during an interview with this publication.
EI, which is recognised as the “voice of the teaching profession,” is the global international union representing more than 13 million teachers and education workers in about 190 countries with more than 400 member organisations.
And one of the many things that EI has been advocating for globally is the need for qualified teachers in the education systems, Hopgood disclosed.
“We must have teachers supported in terms of the resources provided. We must be able to provide teachers with class sizes which enable them to give children individual attention that they need and deserve,” she insisted.
Added to this, she opined that the relevant authorities cannot deny the fact that the support for quality teachers must include proper pay and working conditions. “All of those things make up a quality teaching force and will provide us with quality teaching and learning for our students,” she noted.
As such, she underscored that “it goes without saying that if we recognise the important role of teachers in achieving quality education for our children, then Governments must support teachers.”
And since it is a known fact that one of the primary objectives of a Government is to provide education for every child, Hopgood said that it is therefore crucial that teachers are not only qualified but are afforded ongoing professional development and training throughout their careers.
Alluding to the level of dedication that comes with being a teacher, Hopgood, who herself served as a Mathematics teacher in Australia for many years, said that there is nothing more gratifying than to see students grasping a complex idea. “I think that is what motivates teachers around the world,” she speculated.

Universal Education
But according to Hopgood, there are currently 61 million children around the globe who have not even been enrolled in primary school. Moreover, she emphasised that the world has not been able to achieve the promise made by many Governments to achieve education for all by 2015 in accordance with the associated Millennium Development Goals.
According to her, not even the basic, in terms of education, has been achieved by some countries. She underscored too that while many countries are able to adequately offer primary education, many children are not able to complete their secondary education.
Guyana has already attained universal primary education and is currently making zealous strides to achieve universal secondary education.  This development is however not unique to Guyana, as according to Hopgood, there are many countries around the world that are struggling to achieve this goal of universal education.
“It is not just about basic education, it is about early childhood, primary and secondary school education and access to post compulsory education, whether it be vocational education and training or tertiary education,” asserted the EI President.
Moreover, she noted that the ongoing efforts of the Guyanese Government in this regard are rather laudable.
Hopgood, who recently attended the 36th Biennial Conference of the Caribbean Union Teachers, which took place at the Princess International Hotel, was tasked with meeting with the various representative unions and highlighting the important factors to achieve quality education.  At that forum, she listed funding as one of the crucial factors to aid the process of universal education even as moves are made to raise the professional status of teachers in the society which requires Governments’ intervention. “Too often Governments are critical of teachers for things they do not have control of, and so, raising the status of teachers is an important issue,” said Hopgood. She also spoke of the need to put an end to discrimination against teachers, which according to her, can occur in various forms. She is convinced that too often teachers are discriminated based on their age, sexual preference and even their race, all of which must be addressed forthwith in order to fast-track universal education.

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