Training, guidance essential for teachers performing management duties

Chairman of the Education Committee within the Region 10 (Upper Demerara-

Berbice) Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Denise Belgrave, has asserted that in order for the region’s teachers to perform effectively at the level of management and administration, there has to be some form of training or guidance.
She made the assertion while addressing Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the education system, Ed Caesar and Councillors at a recent consultation held in the region. Belgrave said she has recognised that teachers who act in the roles of administrators, more so at the nursery level, have serious issues with managing schools and blamed the lack of knowledge on their part. She said she is uncertain when issues of vacancies would be addressed in the region, so it appears as though the teachers who are presently acting in these positions would be acting for some time. The Education Committee Chairman then suggested that the teachers should in the meantime be guided from the level of the Department of Education.
“I think that these teachers need some amount of guidance – seminars, workshops should be done to give them some leverage… because there is a difference between classroom teachers and being a manager, an administrator. I’ve seen a lot, because we have a lot of issues and conflicts,” Belgrave said.
She added that there are a lot of retired educators in the region that would be happy to assist, stressing that they should be given an opportunity. Belgrave, who was also scheduled to retire, said she was willing to continue to assist the region in whatever way possible. “We have a passion for education, use us back so we can work,” she said.