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GTU makes clarion call for teachers’ upgrade
– As World Teachers’ Day is observed
Teachers of the country are being urged to upgrade their qualifications even as World Teachers Day is observed today. This clarion call was made by President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), Colin Bynoe, who during an interview with this publication emphasised, among other things, the importance of teachers being particularly qualified in the area of Information Communication Technology (ICT).
GTU President, Colin Bynoe
And this move, according to Bynoe, will certainly aid teachers’ effort to offer quality education to the nation’s children. “I think it is the responsibility of the Guyana Teachers Union to make sure that we call on them (teachers) to do that (upgrade) and as a responsible President I must do that,” said a passionate Bynoe.
Moreover, he emphasised that the GTU is advocating for the use of ICTs in the country’s classrooms. This is imperative, Bynoe noted, since it has been recognised that “the children who we are teaching today are digital natives.”
“We (teachers) are like immigrants,” said the GTU President even as he alluded to the fact that in many cases children are more tech-savvy than adults who are tasked with delivering the education curriculum.
In fact, he noted that children are entering the education system with knowledge of ICTs and have been found to have a liking for it. It is for this reason, Bynoe said, that “I feel if we use such technology in the classroom we will be able to get their attention.”
He is of the firm view that once the notion of ICT is fully embraced in the classroom it will cater to effortless teaching while at the same time helping to decrease indiscipline.
And this move, the GTU President intimated, will further make the teacher into a facilitator who can give children more opportunities to explore and thereby help “our take-off in education…”
Most importantly, Bynoe is confident that ICTs have the potential to remedy the challenges the education sector currently faces as it relate to Mathematics and English at the level of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination. He speculated that if ICTs are used in teaching Mathematics for instance, it could make it a bit more interesting to students and thereby encourage them to do better which by extension will lend to improved performances.
But despite the GTU’s call for teachers to adopt ICTs in the classroom, Bynoe noted that it will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Education to ensure that all primary and secondary schools are equipped with the necessary ICTs.
Added to this the GTU President said that such a development will also require that Education Officers upgrade their knowledge in the use of ICTs with a view of them being more supportive. “They are the ones who have to supervise these teachers in the schools…therefore if we are asking teachers to upgrade themselves it behoves the Ministry to ensure that education officers could come up to scratch as well,” added Bynoe.
World Teachers’ Day was first celebrated on October 5, 1994, an observance which has been ongoing annually since. This year the auspicious day is being observed under the theme ‘A call for teachers.’
On this day, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Education International, encourages the celebration of the important role that teachers play in providing quality education at all levels. It also commemorates the anniversary of the 1966 signature of the “UNESCO/International Labour Organisation (ILO) Recommendation, concerning the Status of Teachers”.
On this special day too, everyone has the opportunity to observe the significant and sometimes complex task that teachers play, both in and outside of the classroom.
Moreover, World Teachers’ Day is devoted to appreciating, assessing and improving the lives of the Educators around the world, and Guyanese teachers are certainly not exempted. In fact Bynoe vocalised that “it is a time when we can not only look at issues affecting the profession, but address them” even as he observed that “strangely this vital profession does not receive the respect it deserves in Guyana.”
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