A constant flow of teachers, adequately equipped for the job, is essential for positive Return on Investment in education. With the advent of the 2017-2018 academic year, the Ministry of Education has embarked on a series of sessions geared towards enhancing the competence and confidence of new, untrained and non-graduate teachers.

On Monday 23rd October, the Ministry sought to edify the important cadre of untrained and non-graduate teachers during a training session at the Fisheries Conference Room. The exercise explored a range of topics including the management of teaching and learning, catering to mixed abilities and varied learning styles in the classroom, and assessment and evaluation.

In a similar way, “new” teachers have been officially oriented to the profession. Some are totally new to the system, while others have been newly teacher-trained or are returning to the system after a break in service. On Monday 13th September, the educators were engaged in sessions of basic work ethics, teacher professionalism and the planning element of teaching.

By the end of this year, the government is expected to have invested 15 – 18% of its budget funds into the teaching and learning domain. This backdrop not only helps to propel the operation of the Ministry of Education but also guides the construction of its calendar of activities.

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, there are about 1600 teachers dispersed across 68 primary and 27 secondary schools. Approximately 900 teachers are attached to primary schools and just over 700 are situated in secondary institutions.