Right to a qualified teacher

TTUTA

WORLD TEACHERS Day will be celebrated on Friday. This year’s celebration also marks the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, established in 1948.

The theme chosen for this year’s celebration is “The Right to Education means the Right to a Qualified Teacher.” According to UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning, this theme was selected as a reminder to the global community that the right to education cannot be achieved without the right to trained and qualified teachers.

For us here in Trinidad and Tobago this may be a good opportunity to engage in a discussion on: “To what extent within this framework of trained and qualified teachers are we providing the right to education?”

As a society, it is important for us to recognise that access to schools is not equivalent to an education. Quality education needs to be characterised by equitable provisions that ensure all learners are met at the point of their needs. Additionally, every possible action must be taken to facilitate learning, especially for those students coming from at-risk and marginalised circumstances.

This year’s World Teachers Day theme suggests that the foregoing will successfully happen when teachers are trained and qualified. In other words, the education that children receive in schools must be provided by teachers who are trained and qualified, and that this must be considered a right, as much as they have a right to be provided with that education in the first place.

Several questions arise: Who ensures that these rights are satisfied? Who guarantees the right to an education for children? Who ensures that teachers receive the training that qualifies them to provide the quality of education required by all children? The response to the foregoing question is that this will have to be a collective effort with various stakeholder groups being held responsible for their respective responsibilities.

In the first instance of satisfying children’s right to an education, we will need to hold parents accountable followed by the State or state agencies. Our republican Constitution guarantees parents the right to an education of their choice for their children. For parents to meet this commitment, they must have access to this service. This is where the State comes in.

In a small economy such as our own, and given the inherent right to education to which we have acceded by our signature to a number of international conventions, it is imperative that the State provides access to educational opportunity across various levels, from early childhood to tertiary.

Of course access does not only mean a physical space; it also requires quality provision and a concerted effort at facilitating learning. It is on the latter that teachers must fulfil their commitment.

However, in terms of basic education (primary schooling in particular), the State also has a role to play in ensuring that teachers receive initial teacher training that equips them with the competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions) to ensure quality provision.

Additionally, the State must also ensure that tools and resources required are available for teachers to effectively perform their duties.

It is also necessary to point out that initial teacher training is necessary but not sufficient. Given the dynamic nature of education and the development of knowledge, teachers also need access to ongoing professional development opportunities to ensure that they are always on the cutting edge of professional knowledge in their respective disciplines, ready and able to successfully respond to the needs of all learners.

Indeed, the United Nations in a joint message on the October 5, 2014, commemoration of World Teachers Day stated:

“An education system is only as good as its teachers. Teachers are essential to universal and quality education for all: they are central to shaping the minds and attitudes of the coming generations to deal with new global challenges and opportunities. Innovative, inclusive and results-focused teaching is crucial for 2015 and beyond if we are to provide the best possible opportunities for millions of children, youth and adults worldwide.”

As the Ministry of Education and our policymakers proceed with reform initiatives aimed at improving the education system, let the following quotation serve as a guide to its actions. Measures aimed at teacher professional development must be developmental and focused on ensuring that teachers are indeed equipped to provide the quality educational opportunities that guaranties children their right to education. As TTUTA always asserts, “What is good for teachers is good for the nation.”

Happy World Teachers Day to all of our nation’s teachers.