National Education Council established

By Alexis Rodney

Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine on Tuesday announced that Cabinet has given its no-objection to the establishment of the National Education Council (NEC), which will oversee the implementation of initiatives for the sector.

Dr Roopnaraine, delivering the feature address at the opening ceremony of this year’s Education Month activities, declared that the new Administration has already taken a number of initiatives that will seek to inform and guide educators in a particular path.

Some of these initiatives have already been undertaken, while others are still under consideration. He said the idea was for the outcome of the initiative to reflect in the deliberation of the now established NEC, which will then make recommendation for the review of the sector’s strategic plan and the finalisation of the draft education bill.

Under the theme “Quality Educational Leadership: Improving schools from within”, Education Month 2015 was launched at the Theatre Guild, Kingston, Georgetown.

Speaking on this theme, Dr Roopnaraine said Government was working towards the strategic enhancement and delivery of proper education to the nation’s children.

“It is these two culminations that will be the embodiment for us,” Dr Roopnaraine told the gathering of Regional Education Officers (REOs), headteachers, teachers and students. He said the guiding principle in all of this, “is that what will work will be retained, what could be salvaged will be salvaged. What will not work and is unsalvageable will be discontinued and new initiatives will be undertaken. New initiatives will express the thinking of the new regime with regard to the education, while providing for its completeness,” he said.

He said the theme squarely pointed to the need for effective leadership and the manpower. From the leadership perspective, he said it was at this stage that the managers of the system would be objective, oriented people who would constantly monitor the education sector to ensure that all the required elements were in place and were working. From the manpower perspective, he said the challenge would be to ensure that the preparation was relevant and they (teachers and policymakers) were committed to the task in the application.

According to him, from the delivery perspective, the issue of methodology of delivery and the technology of delivery will be critical elements. In that regard, he added, ways and means must be found to enhance the curriculum through integrated and multidisciplinary teaching with absolute provision for extracurricular activities.

Reclaim

Speaking also at the event, Chief Education Officer Olato Sam called on teachers and educators in the public school system to raise the bar and reclaim their rightful place in society.

“It is high time that we make the clarion call to this nation so that our teachers could reclaim their appropriate place in the society. For too long teachers have been undermined in many communities. If we are to progress as a nation and fulfil our developmental objectives, our teachers are the ones who will lead that effort,” Sam said.