The Ministry of Education is urging regional educational officials to report non-performing head teachers and teachers to the Chief Education Officer (CEO), as their negligence is jeopardising the targets set in the education sector strategy.
Minister of Education Shaik Baksh made this announcement at the recently-concluded forum convened to review the five-year Education Strategic Plan (ESP), a press release from the ministry said. He said delinquent teachers must not be allowed to have free reign in the school system and that “chronic negligent teachers who are reported to the CEO will be paraded before the Teaching Service Commission (TSC).”
Baksh noted that while there are challenges in the school system, it is puzzling that teachers record a high attendance rate, yet students are performing very poorly at some schools. According to reports, some teachers report for duty but deliver ‘half baked’ lessons, while some are occasionally absent from class, the ministry said.
In the light of this, the minister said these types of behaviours demonstrated by teachers are “callous” and “highly unacceptable,” while adding that the same can be said of some regional officials for allowing the teachers to continue with their wanton practices.
According to Baksh, if the prevailing situation is not corrected, the ministry will be moving against regional education officials, many of whom he had earlier chastised for their poor leadership and management. He said the current approach by some education officials cannot be tolerated if the ministry intends to achieve the targets outlined in the ESP. He further charged those who have not gotten a satisfactory response from their regions after lodging reports, to contact the central ministry.
The minister called on the officials to police their regions to ensure teachers are punctual and attend classes regularly. He also urged them to adopt a diagnostic approach to problem-solving. He said teachers must be guided and supported to overcome their challenges. Baksh said all regions but regions One, Seven and Eight are on track to achieve most of the ESP goals and he urged the officials to recommit themselves to achieving the set benchmarks and to make a meaningful impact on students’ learning outcomes.
Baksh said the ministry has taken steps to create child-friendly environments, boost discipline, attendance, performance and the quality of education and as a result these initiatives must produce the desired outcomes. The ministry said it will closely monitor and support the underperforming regions in an attempt to reverse negative performance, even as it urges the CEO to move aggressively against negligent teachers.
