Dear Editor,

It is refreshing to read in the newspapers (dated December 5, 2007) that Education Minister Shaik Baksh stated that government plans to increase the amount of teachers being trained currently by three fold over the next five years.

I wish to make some comments on this issue, if I may.

Despite the fact that it is recognized that our teachers are the life-blood of the next generation of Guyanese, the discrepancy between the quality of teachers and teaching in various schools in Guyana is alarming. Some schools have dedicated teachers while others have incompetent teachers.

I know personally many teachers in rural areas who are ineptly qualified and do the minimum in the classroom. They provide no motivation to the students and are far from enthusiastic about their profession.

It is important to emphasize that teachers must not only be trained academically but should also be appropriately trained to act as mentors to their students. After all, parents and teachers play an integral role in a child’s education since a child tends to emulate their parents, teachers, and siblings.

A disquieting incident occurred recently that I am aware of. A certain primary school on the West Coast Demerara was offered assistance in setting up a computer lab from a good-natured non-resident Guyanese who offered to send the school a computer. The teachers of the said school do not recognize the value of teaching the children internet and computer skills so did not accept the assistance from the non-resident Guyanese. As a result of the narrow-mindedness of these teachers, the kids are being denied the right to be computer literate. In an age of computers, it is hard to comprehend that some children leave primary school and are not computer literate.

The time has come for us to pay our teachers for performance. All teachers should not be given the same salary increment. Good teachers that produce positive student’s results should be appropriately rewarded by providing incentives (bonus, extra days off, etc). Incompetent teachers should be requested to seek other career options.

Yours faithfully,

Anand Persaud