Georgetown: Although it is imperative that teachers seek to upgrade themselves academically, it is equally important that they do not rob students of a full educational experience. This notion was recently amplified by Chief Education Officer, Mr. Olato Sam.
In order to guard against such potential scenarios, Sam said that the Ministry of Education has subjected some teachers to the signing of contracts. This, he said, is a mechanism aimed at ensuring that teachers give what is due to the children they are task with teaching. “We want teachers to upgrade themselves yes, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that the children we teach are the ones who allow us to get a salary at the end of the month; it is them who legitimize our existence,” he passionately asserted.
In responding to concerns that teachers should not all be obligated to sign contracts once they are do not attend class during school hours, Sam noted that is it near impossible for teachers to attend certain classes at the University of Guyana (UG) in the field of education after 16:00 hours. “There is nobody who is doing an education programme at UG that will be attending classes after four (16:00 hours)…impossible. So there has to be an understanding that once you would have taken that time, that deservedly should be theirs (students), then you have got to give something back,” the CEO insisted.
Sam in making his point revealed that during a visit to Region 10 it was discovered that a teacher was away from school for the entire final week in order to write exams at the university. In fact, he revealed that the teacher had sought and received permission for this absence from the Head of the school. “What about the children?” Sam queried even as he noted that “some people think it is okay to be on and off for four years, but what about the children…they think that a week here or a week there is okay and not be as committed to teaching but when we ask for one extra hour that is apparently too much to give back…We say come in and give us one hour on Saturday or after school but everybody sees that as too much.”
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