-Minister Baksh urges literacy educator to positively transform their charges
Education Minister Shaik Baksh yesterday charged a new batch of literacy educators to be dedicated to their work as his ministry strives to eliminate illiteracy from the school system and society as a whole. Addressing a group of 40 educators drawn from various districts throughout the country, at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), Baksh urged the new intake to eschew complacency and commit their efforts to ensuring that every child under their watch is positively transformed.
He encouraged the educators to seek to understand the background of their students, noting that this approach will place them in a position to better serve their charges.
He pointed out that currently there are about 300 literacy educators in the system, aiding the fight to end illiteracy. These individuals, Baksh said, have also been working with out-of-school- youths in various communities.
The minister pointed out that raising the standard of literacy and numeracy is a top priority of his ministry; and on that score, said that a National Grade Four Certificate will be introduced from next year.
This intervention, he added, will put teachers under pressure to perform and his ministry intends to publish the names of schools with pass rates of below 50 per cent.
Pupils who fail the Grade Four examination, the minister said, will be given opportunities to make amends in term one or term two in Grade Five.
Candidates who failed in both the first and second team in Grade Five, he said, will most likely receive placements at the remedial Form One of the newly introduced six year secondary schools programme.
Baksh also informed the educators that his ministry has rolled out a new literacy methodology with intense focus on remediation, and he noted that the current July/August vacation programme, which targets slow learners, both at the primary and secondary levels, is part of a broader initiative to address the problem.
In 2008, the National Fast Track Literacy Programme commenced with significant budgetary support, targeting low performers, out-of-school youths, and young illiterate adults throughout the country.
The following year, the Ministry of Education, in keeping with its thrust to have greater coordination in the promotion and expansion of the national literacy programmes, established a National Literacy Unit.
This unit replaced the Basic Education Access Management Support Programme (BEAMS) literacy programme, and has a clearly defined structure to address the problem of illiteracy.
The Fast Track Literacy Programme covers all education districts and is managed by a National Literacy Coordinator, with support from 15 regional literacy coordinators and educators.
To date, some 345 persons have successfully completed training in the Literacy Educator Basic Course and currently about 300 are employed at 219 centres across the country.
In addition, 16 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are actively involved in the training, provision of materials and running of programmes for literacy educators.
There is also a National Coordinator for the School System Literacy Programme which involves regional literacy coordinators working with regular classroom teachers to deliver the programme.
The Ministry of Education too has held numerous regional and national workshops to train and equip literacy educators to advance the programme and realise the Government’s objectives in this important area.
Teachers at every grade at the primary level are also encouraged to provide one extra hour per week to work with children who have difficulties meeting the required literacy standards.
The Ministry of Education has also introduced a six-year secondary school programme for low performing students, with heavy emphasis on literacy and numeracy in the first year.
Further, all Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions are required to offer a literacy programme for their students, and  the Prison Service has been working with the Literacy Unit to improve literacy among inmates, and so too is the Corporate Private Sector to provide literacy training for workers.