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Teachers to be licensed from next year – Education Minister
Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana in its commitment to strengthening the education sector is aiming to have all teachers in the system licensed beginning from next year.
This was announced on Monday by Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand during a media brunch at the Cara Lodge Hotel, Georgetown. The Minister’s announcement comes after she made it clear that all educators in the system must be trained or be in training by next year.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand.
“You are more likely to do well as a trained teacher and teachers who do continuous learning,” she stated.
Minister Manickchand stressed too that the teaching profession is equally important as doctors, and so teachers must be licensed to carry out the job.
“Beginning next year, we have to license our teachers; this is one of the most important professions. Doctors have to be licensed and re-licensed every year because you know we have to make sure they have the skills. Teachers across the Caribbean, teachers in North America, they hold a licence and if you don’t engage in a certain number of professional development courses, that speaks to the level of commitment and what you might be able to know and learn; we can’t progress,” the Minister asserted.
She noted too that for years now, the rate of trained teachers across the country have been at a stagnant 70 percent and this is partially due to the number of enrollment, which the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) can facilitate and the fact that teachers retire every year.
“The highest level of trained teachers we have is at primary, and has never reached 80 percent. We don’t have any level with 80 percent trained teachers, it has all been at the 73, 71, 75, 77, and the reason for that is simple, some teachers have retired every year and we have only ever been able to put 535 (at a time) in training,” Manickchand revealed.
The Minister mentioned too that the Ministry has recorded a drop in hinterland teachers being trained. Though it was worrying at first, she disclosed that what they found is that these teachers preferred to do the two-year Associated Degree programme instead of the full four-year certificate programme. Although noting that this is commendable, she encouraged them to pursue the profession further.
For those teachers in the system who are untrained, the Education Minister assured that come next year, her Ministry will be working closely to upgrade them.
While, disclosing the plans the Ministry has for next year and beyond, the Minister noted that the CPCE will be expanded.
“The Cyril Potter College of Education is the only teaching training centre in the country. Usually, about 535 students are accepted for face-to-face learning every year, this year because we have gone online, we have more than 2,500 students who have begun their first year learning,” she related.
Given the plans for the CPCE, the Minister noted that in the next four years, Guyana will be able to produce more teachers than it has ever done before.
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