…from Education Minister Shaik Baksh
‘We are blessed with committed, competent, caring teachers’
Each year on World Teachers’ Day, we take special timeout to recognize the priceless contribution our teachers continue to make in transforming our country. The educationists captured it aptly when they stated that teachers are “… attractive models who advertise, by their very being, that learning does produce wondrous results”. 
Our education system has been blessed with scores of committed, competent and caring teachers who embody those traits.
We must continue to support their efforts since we all ultimately stand to benefit in numerous tangible ways.  I would like to use this opportunity to appeal to all education stakeholders to join the Ministry of Education in supporting our hardworking teachers across Guyana. 
Recently, there have been a number of civil society partners who have contributed in various ways to improving the quality of the professional experience our teachers enjoy.  We have reintroduced our National Teacher Awards with significant support from corporate entities.  In addition, our teachers can now access low cost loans through a specially designed housing loan scheme recently introduced.  We continue to engage the Guyana Teachers Union on improving the incentive systems in place for our teachers, in addition to the ongoing effort aimed at enhancing both salaried and non-salaried benefits outlined in the existing multi-year agreement which will come under review during the course of this year. We are committed to doing more for our teachers to ensure that they enjoy the quality of life they deserve and the input from the wider society in this regard would be invaluable. 
Our Continuous Professional Development Programme has received a tremendous response from the teachers who recently participated and joins the long list of interventions aimed at improving the overall competence levels of practicing teachers.  We have developed an ICT competence framework for teachers in which thousands of teachers are being trained in new strategies for integrating technology into the teaching-learning process. In addition, a range of quality assurance measures have been introduced into our teacher education and training programmes to ensure standards of excellence lead to improved classroom performance.  To this end, teachers will now be able to access higher quality of training with the new academic standards, curriculum and updated Associate Degree programme introduced at the Cyril Potter College of Education.  Through the link this programme will have with the Bachelors Degree programme at the School of Education and Humanities at the University of Guyana, our teachers will be able to complete their degree in four years.  At the same time, our teachers in the hinterland regions will continue to access the Trained Teachers’ Certificate Programme at their respective CPCE centers.  
A range of incentives have also been approved to encourage teachers to take up assignments in the hinterland and deep riverine areas where we still have a significant need for good quality teachers.  We are constantly seeking new ways in which our teachers could forge a stronger relationship with the communities they serve; to strengthen the home-school-community partnership.  Our theme for Education Month 2010, “Child Friendly Homes, Child Friendly Schools – Quality Education”, captures the critical importance of that link in creating the educational outcomes we seek. 
I must restate my call for parents to invest more time in ensuring the academic success of their children by working more closely with our teachers.  In turn, our teachers have committed to ensuring that parents are constantly updated regarding their children’s progress through consistent parent-teacher conferences which have now been institutionalized. 
We are highly encouraged by the recent improvements noted in the education system.  We must continue these trends, and the ones who have the greatest role to play in this regard are our nation’s teachers.  I urge them to continue to make us proud as they strive for excellence in education.   
We fully support you, and I urge all our education stakeholders to join me in ensuring that our teachers receive their due recognition on World Teachers’ Day 2010.