Government may no longer recruit overseas teachers, as was intended, but will place more emphasis on training local teachers in the areas of mathematics and the sciences.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon
Already, the Education Ministry is looking at preparing a plan whereby scholarships can be awarded to teachers to attend the University of Guyana (UG) to pursue studies in these needed areas. This is according to a senior education official who requested anonymity.
The official pointed out that it would be too costly to import teachers, and the best solution is to train locals.
The new scholarship plan is in addition to the 30 scholarships awarded to the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) in the recent multi-year agreement signed between the government and the union.
At the signing of that agreement, GTU President Collin Bynoe had indicated that preference would be given to teachers in the areas of mathematics and the sciences. The scheme by the Education Ministry will, however, have to be placed before Cabinet for approval. The official pointed out that, already, the ministry is pushing to have the new learning channel place heavier emphasis on mathematics and science programmes.
This process has been started, and several of these programmes are aired daily.
Additionally, the Education Ministry, through the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), has been offering a non- graduate programme for teachers who have not been trained in the sciences and mathematics, but are teaching these subjects. Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, had announced on February 17 that the government had intentions of recruiting overseas teachers to address the shortage in these important areas.
Following the announcement, there had not been much talk about the proposal.
The GTU was against the move to hire overseas teachers, and had made several calls for this issue to be reviewed.
Bynoe had said that if the government moves to recruit overseas teachers, it will bring about some level of discrimination against local teachers, particularly those who have been teaching these subjects and have served the education system with dedication and distinction for years.
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