Education Ministry exploring ways to attract teachers to hinterland

Education Minister Priya Manickchand has announced that several avenues are being examined to attract teachers into hinterland communities amid the prolonged issue of human resource shortages in such areas.

Due to the fact that many of these communities are far-flung or imbedded in the heart of the hinterland, there are many instances where educators from the coastland are required to fill vacancies. However, Manickchand shared that incentives apart from salary is being looked at.
“We’re looking at various ways we can attract teachers into the hinterland. That is over and above just salary also. It is percentage points for promotion and some other types of incentives. Right now, we do not have those written down on paper but it is something we’re currently looking at aggressively,” she announced.
The Minister highlighted that until persons from the community are eligible to attend the Cyril Potter College of Education and can take up these roles, the weight will fall on the Ministry to source teachers elsewhere. In the same light, housing quarters for teachers are being established in new and existing schools to provide accommodation.
“If we haven’t been graduating children in those communities that can have the eligibility criteria to enter the college, then until we can, we need to put trained teachers in the community. The only way we can do that is import from various communities and we would have to provide housing.”
The International Centre of Excellence in Educator Innovation, Learning and Development (ICEEILD) programme, was launched in June at the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen Campus, to ensure hinterland teachers have equal access to higher education.
This occurred amid trends which showed that opportunities for teachers in far-flung villages were extremely limited due to their remote location. While some would leave their home and travel to Georgetown to attend the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and UG, many are still not able to do so owing to social and economic constraints.
In April 2021, measures by the Education Ministry for teachers to access online education at the CPCE were implemented due to closures of public buildings related the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goal Four of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) speaks to achieving inclusive and equitable quality education by 2030. A UNICEF study in 2017 found that for every 100 Indigenous boys and girls enrolled in secondary school, only 53 would complete. Indigenous children would drop out when they are about to enter secondary school, or during their early secondary education stage. (G12)