NCERD increasing trained teachers by 145 early 2012
ONE hundred and forty-five teachers are expected to graduate with qualifications in several key subject areas, early next year, from the Education Ministry’s Non-Graduate Certificate Programme, being offered by the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD). They are pursuing studies in English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology and will be sitting their final examinations in December.
NCERD Director, Mr. Mohandatt Goolsarran said 93 are studying English, 25 Mathematics, 11 Chemistry and Biology and five Physics.
The 18 months course is part of the series of continuous professional development programmes, introduced by NCERD to build the capacity of teachers, who are not formally trained in the various subject areas, to effectively impart to students.
It is also in the ministry’s drive to improve students’ performance at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, particularly in the areas of English and Mathematics.
Education Minister Shaik Baksh said, in a release, that greater emphasis is being placed on continuous professional development of teachers as his ministry widens the opportunity for them to upgrade their skills and be more responsive to the changing demands of the school system.
Teachers who complete the programme will have an advantage when they apply for promotion, he said, emphasising that efforts are also being made to enhance and upgrade the teachers educators curriculum at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) to the master’s level, maintaining that quality teachers are the ones who make the real difference in students’ learning outcomes.
Mr. Baksh said there must be a paradigm shift in the delivery of education at the CPCE, which must include the redesign of the curriculum to de-emphasise knowledge content which leads to cramming and regurgitation.
He articulated that, among other things, the new curriculum design and delivery methodology must emphasise processing, problem solving, developmental, technical, communication, reasoning and interpersonal skills
NCERD has been conducting a range of face-to-face and distance education training courses, based on the needs of the school system.
These programmes are delivered both at the national and regional levels and are also delivered through face-to-face instruction and distance modes.
Other courses offered by NCERD include classroom test construction and evaluation, guidance and counselling, curriculum management, personnel management for school managers and principles of education management.
To further enhance the delivery of education, Government continues to invest in training of teachers and a US$4.2M Guyana Improvement Teacher Education Project was initiated.
Approximately $200M was budgeted in 2011 towards this programme, while a further $919M has also been allocated for teacher training, with the aim of achieving the medium term target of 70 per cent trained by 2013.
CPCE trains at least 500 teachers, annually, at Government’s expense.