The Ministry of Education is continuing to work on legislation which would increase the age of retirement for trained teachers as it sees this as having an adverse effect on the education system.
Speaking at the National Volunteer Teacher training programme graduation ceremony held at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) on Friday, Education Minister Shaik Baksh said that the 55 years age of retirement “is too low”. He said the ministry has recognized that this was one of the major problems hampering the delivery of quality education.
Baksh noted that many teachers are opting out of the public education arena once they achieve the early retirement entitlement age of 50 years.
He said proposals have been made to have the age of retirement adjusted to 60, stating that he hopes to see some 300 retired teachers back in the system.
He said that by law teachers are eligible to retire early (at age 50), but noted that in developed countries teachers retire at 60 and 65 years old. Baksh noted too that teachers are important resources and it takes years of training to become a good teacher.
As regards the volunteer teaching programme, the minister said he supported the initiative from the inception.
He said among the reasons he had a special interest in the venture is that quality education is not reaching hinterland communities. He said in remote areas of the hinterland many schools and related facilities have been constructed but were not being complemented with trained teachers. He noted that at the just concluded National Toshaos Council meeting, many village leaders cited the need for teachers in their villages. He said in some cases the community leaders reported that schools are being manned by one or two teachers.
Baksh said that in the past moves had been made to address the problem of shortage of teachers in such areas but the ministry has recognized that teachers are reluctant to relocate to the hinterland. He said that for some it was the thought of contracting malaria, while others were concerned about adapting to life in such areas as well as housing.
He said an initiative which the ministry is pursuing is having trained teachers transferred to different schools located within their respective administrative regions voluntarily. He said the Teaching Service Commission, based on recommendations made by the ministry, is now able to transfer teachers to other areas in the administrative regions where they are based.
In this regard, Baksh said, the ministry has implemented a system of offering teachers incentives in order to boost the education sector. These include a remote area incentive, free air fare to hinterland communities, and a recently implemented housing allowance of $30,000 per month.
Baksh said he considers the volunteer teachers pioneers of the profession and urged them to upgrade themselves. He told them that they would be offered due priority when/if they apply for entry to the CPCE.
Stating that the volunteers should be recognized for their service, the minister said that those who serve the programme for more than two years will be given priority for scholarships to attend the University of Guyana.
Earlier in the proceedings, Programme Manager for the Voluntary Service Organisation(VSO),Tara Persaud, said that the underpinnings of the project was conceived in 2006, as she noted that its aim is to enable children from hinterland communities ,who have been affected by shortage of teachers, access to quality education.
She told those gathered that when the project commenced in 2007, 12 volunteer teachers were sent to Regions One and Nine. She said that Friday’s graduates will be installed in those too regions in addition to Region Seven and Eight. Persaud said 75% of the project’s cost is being billed by VSO while the Canada Agency for International Development (CIDA) bears the remaining cost.
CIDA representative Brett Maitland said the initiative is part of a global effort. He said in the United Sates of America and Canada some 20 million persons have volunteered their services to various aspects of work.
He said CIDA’s interest in the voluntary teaching programme is based on Guyana’s interest in her resources. Maitland expressed hope that the authorities will extend the voluntary initiative to cover other sectors of work.
The National Voluntary Teachers training programme commenced on July 13 and within the three weeks of training, participants were drawn to numerous ways of learning the art of providing quality education including classroom management and child psychology.
The 27 participants were drawn from various areas across the country and will engage in orientation exercises in their respective placement areas before commencing their one year of service.