As leadership conference gets underway…Educators urged to help transform education sector

Apr 06, 2018 News

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Although the local education sector has been yielding some notable success, there is still need for more to be done to transform the sector so that it realises even greater results.
This was the notion that was amplified yesterday when a Conference on Education Leadership got underway at School of the Nations, New Market Street, Georgetown,.
The event is one being spearheaded by the school, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the British High Commission.
Speaking at the forum yesterday, Director of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development [NCERD], Ms. Jennifer Cumberbatch, underscored that strong accountability and excellent leadership are consistent factors that are internationally recognised and practised by top performing education systems.
Cumberbatch, who represented Minister of Education Ms. Nicolette Henry at the forum, disclosed too, that many exceptional local academics, artistes, as well as sportsmen and women, were in fact, products of an excellent system. She moreover stressed that it is important that Guyana retains such a system.
As such, she noted that moving forward, it is imperative that principals and teachers are given the training and support to run efficient, result-oriented schools, whose students achieve previously inconceivable feats under their leadership.

But even in the face of some shortcomings, Cumberbatch noted that Guyana has a number of exceptional schools that have achieved outstanding results. She added that this is so because their ‘future-focused’ principals, head teachers, teachers and parents have worked together and grasped the opportunities offered by the ministry.
This, she said, has allowed them to “make a clean break from past practices and embrace the new guidelines on how schools should be run to increase attendance and improve academic achievements of their students.”
“To get to this stage, data collection is important, because we need educational information on how our schools are functioning to be more informed when making policies that drive the education system towards quality education for all,” said Cumberbatch. But according to her, “it is unquestionable that heads and principals are responsible for the creation of a school’s culture.”
The conference is one that attracted the attendance of some 60 Regional Education Officers (REDOs) and head teachers, who are expected to influence crucial changes within the sector.
Cumberbatch noted that, “the empowerment through knowledge of all heads and principals through conferences like this will only build confidence, give support and guidance in creating the school culture that is nurturing and productive, producing students that reach their full potential.”

Director of School of the Nations and Nations University, Dr. Brian O’Toole, in delivering an overview of the conference, said that it was brought to fruition following meetings with Minister Henry, and Chief Education Officer, Mr. Marcel Hutson. Following those engagements, he revealed that Regional Education Officers were consulted.
This, according to him, has since allowed for specific focus, in terms of assistance to teachers, to be forthcoming in areas such as the North West District of Region One.
Moreover, the conference is being graced by the Admin Manager for Limited Resource Teachers Training [LRTT], an organisation, which is known to deliver transformational in-service training to teachers in countries with limited resources.
The facilitators of the conference are 30 outstanding educators drawn from various parts of the globe including England, Canada, the United States, Afghanistan and Argentina.
“Our international speakers are really a group of exceptional people,” declared Dr. O’Toole. In fact, he disclosed that “the guy from Afghanistan, they threatened to kill him twice because he educates girls, and I watched his videos and literally it moves you to tears when you see what he has achieved. He has been recognised as one of the 10 outstanding educators in Afghanistan.”
Another notable presence at the conference is Head of the Cambridge University for Latin America, Ms. Lucila Marquez, who comes from Argentina. Speaking of the Cambridge representative, Dr. O’Toole said that, “a major part of the conference will be the launch of the Cambridge Certificate in education leadership programme, and that is why Cambridge sent this lady from Argentina to introduce that programme, and we are doing this with the Ministry of Education.”
The launch of the Professional Development Qualification in Educational Leadership programme by Cambridge University, represents one of the school’s many partnerships.
Ms. Marquez said that the Educational Leadership programme aims at offering support to teachers and leaders to be better educators. She said that the programme will teach educators how to develop a lifelong passion for learning among their students.
The conference participants will also hear from an educator from Gambia, who, according to Dr. Dr. O’Toole, is well known for her role in educating impoverished girls in order to ensure that they are qualified to attend university.
“It is really an impressive group of people we have here for the conference,” assured Dr. O’Toole who, along with a number of other influential education-oriented individuals, will be making presentations.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Dr. Paloma Mohamed, during her remarks told the educators that teaching is one of the most rewarding things to do in life. Being an educator herself, Dr. Mohamed encouraged the teachers, head teachers and REDOs that they need to become transformational leaders to have the greatest impact in their profession.
Echoing similar sentiments was British High Commissioner to Guyana, Mr. Greg Quinn. He encouraged the educators to take advantage of the opportunity being offered so that Guyana can take its education system to higher levels.

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