‘Tailor lessons to reach all students’

WITH just a week away from the start of the new academic year, the Education Minister, Anthony Garcia inducted 122 new teachers into the teaching service, at a ceremony held at the Government Campus Plaza, Port-of-Spain Friday.

Sixty-two secondary school teachers and 60 primary school teachers were successful. At the ceremony Garcia told the new teachers for far too long students who completed in the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) are unable to properly read, write or count. “We understand that all students learn differently and it is up to you to tailor your lessons in such a way that you will reach all students,” Garcia told the new appointees. He said the Education Ministry is committed to providing an education that is accessible, equitable and of good quality.

Garcia described the role teachers play in national development as critical. “As a country, we are now evolving our education sector with a shift in focus towards ensuring that all students are literate and numerate when they leave school,” he said. Information and Communication Technology (ICT), he said is incorporated in the system to achieve this. Education Ministry has been training teachers, he said, to be able to include ICT into the system for both teachers and students.

Garcia urged new teachers to work with their principals and fellow teachers to ensure that the students under their care receive the best possible education.

CEO in the Education Ministry, Harrilal Seecharan also addressed the new teachers advising them not to be judgemental and treat every child as an individual in the classroom. Students, Seecharan said, come from varied social and domestic circumstances. “This can prevent them from being able to obtain a consistent level of education,” he said.

The new batch of teachers will benefit from training over the next week in areas such as Classroom Management, Professional Accountability, Planning for Professional Development, School Based Management, Rights and Responsibilities of Teachers, Pedagogy and Methodology Instruments, among other areas.

This year 65.5 per cent of the students who wrote SEA attained above 50 per cent in their exams. Results showed that in Maths, 58.8 per cent of the students scored above 50 per cent, while in English Language 57.9 percent captured above 50 per cent, with 55.5 per cent obtaining above 50 per cent in creative writing. In a previosu report Garcia said students under the age of 13 who scored below the 30 per cent mark will have to re-sit the exam, while students above 13 will be placed in secondary schools with a special curriculum. Garcia said 2,595 students scored below 30 per cent. Effective supervision and guidance, he said, will be put in place for students who will be asked to repeat in 2019.

Saiesh Rampersad of the Ghandi Memorial Vedic School in Aranguez, scored the highest marks in SEA. Saiesh will be attending Presentation College in Chaguanas.