Not in Guyana’s education system – Manickchand to non-performing teachers

In keeping with a new trajectory to enhance education, the Education Ministry will be demanding performance and proper teaching for students in the system.
Education Minister Priya Manickchand on Monday expressed that students’ lives are damaged when teachers do not perform or execute their functions effectively. In this light, a strong approach has been taken to take teaching to the next level.

“The country has to want to move to a place where we demand performance from our teaching service and the administration of schools because for every teacher that doesn’t teach is dozens of children who are damaging. To take education to a next level, everybody has to be on the same page about what we want it to be and how we want to get there,” Manickchand outlined.
The Minister explained that in many cases, some educators do not give their best owing to the ranking of the school among other factors. But she noted that this conduct and such persons will be weeded out.
“Teachers have a commitment from me, even as we ask you to do better, we will implement measures fairly and openly and transparently and you’ll always have a hearing. But we all have to want to take it to the next level too many times. Too many times, I hear people saying ‘That’s a List E school; they just come and we babysit them till they get big enough to go and work’. Not in my education system.”
It was underscored that the school system has a role to add value to the lives of students before they exit the system.
“Whoever comes through the door must leave with value added to them. If there is anything getting in the way of that added value, you are an enemy to education. We can’t keep you and so I hope everybody will understand the new direction that we’re heading,” she pointed out.
The Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) has committed to having 100 per cent trained teachers in classrooms across Guyana by 2025 as part of the Education Ministry’s strategic plan. Guyana’s teaching capacity received a timely boost earlier in the year when over 800 persons graduated from the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), marking the largest group of graduates in the institution’s history.
Of the 843 graduates, 198 had pursued the Trained Teacher’s Certificate (TTC) Programme, and 645 had pursued the Associate’s Degree (ADE) in Education Programme.
Two categories of untrained teachers currently exist in the education system: those who are eligible for admission at CPCE and those who are not. The latter group is being upgraded, so that they can enter the college programme. (G12)