Georgetown : The licensing of teachers, as recommended by a Commission of Inquiry into the education system, is currently being discussed with stakeholders.
Chief Education Officer, Ministry of Education Marcel Hutson explained that the recommendation is one of several suggested by the COI last year. It is expected to improve the level of service the educators provide. Hutson opined licensing teachers is necessary since the system will guarantee greater discipline and management of educators.
He said, “This will require a complete rethink on how teachers are trained, certified, appraised, managed and disciplined. Every teacher should have an incentive to maintain his or her license to teach.”
The report further stated that consideration must be given to the system’s renewal on a five-year basis, once “certain criteria for professional development, mental and physical assessment are fulfilled.”
When asked what will happen to those persons who have been teaching for several years despite being uncertified, Hutson explained there are programmes currently to have them upgrade their skills.
It was President David Granger who observed that, “Teachers are the foundation on which a good education system is built and a good education system is a foundation on which any nation is built.”
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