The Ministry of Education will be moving to recruit retired teachers as part of a wider effort to enhance the delivery of education countrywide.

Education Minister Shaik Baksh made the announcement at a forum arranged by the ministry to interact with school administrators on Friday and he said the move to bring retired teachers back into the system is in keeping with the ministry’s policy to have a dominance of qualified and trained teachers. “These people have experience, knowledge and wisdom and we need their services but the administrations of the different schools will have to evaluate these teachers and so it will not be an automatic process,” Baksh said.

The minister told the Heads and Deputy Heads from all the schools in Georgetown that the ministry was working on this along with a number of other issues which will form part of a five-year strategic plan.

He said the ministry was working towards an upward move in the education system with less reliance on the central ministry.

“For too long we have had this heavy reliance on the central ministry; any development to come in the system would have to come from you, the teachers,” Baksh charged. “We have to move from policing the system with the bureaucracy at the head, we want a partnership arrangement with the entire education system and so we want to have that changed this year.”

And in its effort to maintain trained and qualified persons in the education system, Baksh said, the ministry will look at the retirement age for teachers and will conduct a study on phased retirement, its possible effects and implications.

Baksh also revealed a plan to work with the University of Guyana (UG) to have the classes in its education programme held mostly in the afternoon hours to facilitate teachers.

“This would mean a review in the granting of leave of absence for teachers who attend UG; these have to be managed so that it does not affect the delivery of education,” he contended.

This comes in the wake of complaints from many head teachers as well as students that teachers have often limited their hours of teaching to be able to attend their classes at UG, many times leaving students unattended.

The minister also flayed teachers for this, saying that commitment was lacking among some teachers.

The placement system is also slated for discussion and subsequent review as the ministry strives to remove the notion of “top primary” schools.

“Each year there is confusion and parents always have problems with where their children are placed