Teachers’ performances should match the salaries and benefits they demand

Dear Editor,

I am encouraged by the fact that President Donald Ramotar took time off his busy schedule to attend the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) Third Biennial Delegates Conference in Berbice. No doubt the union and by extension, teachers across the country would have felt a sense of comfort and solidarity that indeed the government does care about their welfare.

At the conference, the president assured the delegates that the government is committed to fulfilling the teachers’ multi-year package and to fixing the glitches that have dogged the process.

The Memorandum of Understanding that was sealed between the GTU and the Ministry of Education in April 2011, caters for annual salary increases for teachers, incentives for improved academic qualifications, duty free concessions, University of Guyana scholarships, Whitley Council leave, among other benefits. Teachers play an influential role in the life of every student. They are like beacons of light, guiding our children in the formative years of their lives. In essence, the work of dedicated and committed teachers is priceless and truly they deserve to be treated well.

The president’s message to the GTU and all teachers was that the ruling administration regards them as an indispensible resource to national development and, that they “can count on the government as a friend”. “Teachers are the purveyors of knowledge, teachers nurture the minds of those who will eventually shape the nation’s future… without teachers, our people’s skills, creativity, and self-discipline would be malformed,” President Ramotar said.

The current administration has long recognised that the progress of the country hinges on the progress made in education, and teachers have a central role to play in this important process.

However, while the government has committed to ironing out the glitches in the MoU between the government and union, it is only reasonable to ask that this level of salaries and benefits demanded by the union be matched by their [teachers] level of output.

Our teachers must up their performances and work towards getting better results.

Too many students are still failing, especially in the sciences, and this must not be allowed to continue considering the huge sums that are being invested in the sector.

It is interesting that the president touched on the issue of ‘extra lessons’ during his address to the delegates.

There is a view that teachers are still not completing the syllabus during school hours and are demanding that children take extra lessons to ‘catch up’ if they want to ‘pass’ the subject. This is unacceptable and heads of schools/ managers have an obligation to monitor the situation and insist that teachers carry out their functions and do what they are being paid to do.

Yours truly,

M Hackett