CARICOM Secretariat’s Programme Manager for Human Resource Development, Dr. Morella Joseph, has called for the regulation of the teaching profession across the region in order to ensure quality education.
Speaking at the 17th Annual General Meeting of the Dominica Association of Teachers (DAT) on Wednesday morning, Joseph said that in order to have quality education, there must be a need for quality teaching.
“The teaching profession needs to be regulated in order to maintain high international standards; it requires the requisite professional and academic skills, the mechanisms that support quality assurance in the teaching profession,” she argued.
According to Joseph being able to be registered and licensed, having the qualifications to teach and being involved in continuous professional development, are necessary to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
She also noted that with the implementation of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) there is a need to address the harmonisation of standards and systems for preparing teachers.
“The need to operationalize the treaty of Chaguaramas to establish common standards and mutual recognition of qualifications is key. With CSME, there is need to address key issues of the same standards making sure that they are harmonised throughout the region, the equivalencies of qualifications, teacher qualifications framework, the relevance of education and the training.”
She emphasized that teachers need to be “registered and licensed to be able to practice if we want to be serious about the profession and we also have to ensure that it is in line with other professions and maintain its reputation.”
Dr. Joseph pointed to inadequate support for teaching, heavy work load, insufficient opportunities for career advancement, limited autonomy in the work and classroom, and being left out in decision making, as some of the concerns raised by teachers across the region.
She advised that the best teachers should be placed at the early childhood level since it is at that stage that the minds of students are being shaped.
“We should not have anyone teaching at that level without a sound knowledge of child development and psychology. We are entrusted to facilitate growth and development of the young generation. We talk about youth in crisis but we are partly responsible for it, all of us who are dealing with children have a role to play in how they are being formed and molded,” she said.
The CARICOM official called on the Ministry of Education, parents and teachers to pay more attention to the many students who do not achieve failing grades at the CXC Level.
there can’t really be any real regulations in employing teachers in dominica if everybody including ppl i know going to parl rep for job and they hiring ppl who don’t even have the qualifications to be teachers. its all about votes ppl, its all political.
our children can never get the best education they can. I hear it have schools where another teacher have to re teach classes cuz the first teacher don’t know what they doing. Its about giving ppl a job not about having a passion for teaching. wake up ppl, most of you already know that anyway.
there can’t really be any real regulations in employing teachers in dominica if everybody including ppl i know going to parl rep for job and they hiring ppl who don’t even have the qualifications to be teachers. its all about votes ppl, its all political.
our children can never get the best education they can. I hear it have schools where another teacher have to re teach classes cuz the first teacher don’t know what they doing. Its about giving ppl a job not about having a passion for teaching.
Point of correction DNO the later part of the last sentence should read,”…… who do not achieve passing grades at the CXC level.” not failing grades.
CARICOM Secretariat’s Programme Manager for Human Resource Development, Dr. Morella Joseph, has called for the regulation of the teaching profession across the region in order to ensure quality education.
Dr. Joseph pointed to inadequate support for teaching, heavy work load, insufficient opportunities for career advancement, limited autonomy in the work and classroom, and being left out in decision making, as some of the concerns raised by teachers across the region
Consideration should also be given to the salary. Teachers in the region, SLU for instance earn EC$4600 with a Master’s degree. When will a teacher in DA earn that salary as a teacher? The comments and concerns of Dr. Joseph should be taken seriously by the MoE if we want to see improvement in the quality of education that we deliver in DA.
While we at it, less us change that British System and the CXC stuff.
I agree. people shouldn’t come off straight from high school and teach. The teachers should also take cleasses in psycology.
I hope a teacher did not write this with these bad spelling. lol