–Minister Manickchand tells teachers at opening of second Triennial Delegates Conference

EDUCATION Minister, Priya Manickchand, has assured teachers that their collective voices will be heard and, where possible and feasible, solutions to their concerns will be devised.

The minister expressed her support for teachers, on Monday, during the opening of the Guyana Teachers’ Union’s (GTU)’s second Triennial Delegates Conference at the union’s headquarters on Woolford Avenue.

Minister Manickchand, in her address, said that the GTU will not find any resistance from within the Ministry of Education.

“Your voice will not find resistance in the Ministry of Education, where it is practical, where it sensible and where it is impartial. That voice must be the amalgamation and reflection of the highly diverse and sometimes contrasting ideas and desires of our teaching force,” Minister Manickchand said.

She related that it is most important that the union is recognised as balanced, unbiased and the defender of the rights of all teachers.

Minister Manickchand said that the union must stay determined if its wishes to be the impartial mediator that teachers need and deserve and must resist being easily swayed by the objectives and agendas of desperate groups within society.

Additionally, Minister Manickchand reiterated the commitment of the Education Ministry to working hand-in-hand with the union to advance the overall standing of teachers, since the ministry views this as an important necessity for the improvement of the education system.

There are over 2500 teachers who are beneficiaries of scholarships through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) pursuing degrees, masters, PhDs and postgraduate programmes.

She added that due to the pandemic and the physical closure of the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), teacher training was expanded and offered online, increasing the intake at the college from the traditional 535 to now 3,000 new students.

Minister Manickchand said that the aim is to have 100 per cent of the teachers in the education system be trained or in the process of being trained. She said that while there are great untrained teachers, students are more likely to receive better instruction from trained teachers.

Further, she said that the ministry and the union must work in partnership for the securement of a better future for the children of Guyana; this would entail both parties developing a stronger alliance that fosters greater conversation to facilitate the voices of teachers being fully and unceasingly heard.

The Education Minister said that this partnership must ensure that teachers receive access to professional development opportunities that align with the needs of educators and that policies are formulated to advance the empowerment of teachers and their professional practice.

Meanwhile, President of the GTU, Mark Lyte said that COVID-19 allowed the Ministry of Education and teachers to utilise and embrace the benefits of technology to education delivery and management.

In his view, there needs to be greater investment in the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) moving forward.