By Vanessa Braithwaite

WITH only two schools welfare officers in Region 10, Chairman of the Regional Education Committee, Denise Belgrave, has recommended that teachers who hold first degrees in Social Work should be recruited for the post.According to Belgrave, these teachers will have to undergo additional training and mentoring, but they will be of useful help in tackling the many social problems in secondary schools in the mining town.
The two social workers serving the region are stationed in Linden and Kwakwani respectively. The region over the years has been affected by truancy, violence and teenage pregnancy, among other problems.
Teachers with first degrees in Social Work have welcomed the call by Belgrave, as they are not paid for that certification. They are now hoping that Education Minister Rupert Roopnaraine look at the request favourably.
One of those who endorsed the call by Belgrave is Sherene Anthony. Anthony, a primary school teacher for 15 years, graduated in 2014 with distinction in Social Work.
“My degree has helped me to be a better social studies teacher and to deal with children who are experiencing several problems,” she told the Guyana Chronicle.
She believes that the Ministry of Education should employ persons they have within the education system, rather than look out.
“We as teachers already have a bond with these children and when they may be hesitant to confide in a welfare officer, they make us their confidant and therefore it is most fitting that we take up this post and be paid for it,” Anthony contended.
She added: “There is need for more specialised teachers within the schools as the Cyril Potter College of Education has already laid the foundation of how to present the curriculum and the ethics of teaching.”
Minister Roopnaraine in a previous interview had told the Guyana Chronicle that the ministry is in the process of strengthening the counselling units within schools as they are currently weak.
“The teachers with these degrees (Social Work) should gravitate to these units, as they will be able to use their knowledge derived at university to its maximum capacity,” he had mentioned.