DEAR EDITOR, Sir:
I HAD the opportunity of reviewing both articles on education in your paper on October 13, 2003 which summarise Mr Seaga's resolution on the removal of cost-sharing and Senator Johnson's views on the lack of resources in the education system.
While I do agree with the fact that our system is starved of resources and that it is difficult financially for parents to send their children to school, I must point out that we are missing the real issues which, when addressed, will help to improve our education system.
In a time of serious social disturbances and economic instability, we cannot place major emphasis on physical resources. The fact is that physical resources are only helpful if they are used in an efficient and effective manner to achieve goals in our education system. Why give a man a computer if he can't use it to solve his problems and make his life better? We need to ask ourselves the question: Who is the director of these resources that we need so badly? Who will guide these young minds with the aid of these resources? The answer: Our teachers.
Teachers have been struggling with the limited resources over the years and though we may hear that only a small percentage of our students come out literate, it means that they are doing well with the limited resources. It is time that the government, whether it is JLP or PNP, focus on improving the human resources. Stop the blabbering over physical resources. Focus on the teacher.
Teachers are demotivated by small salaries and scarce benefits (and I mean the grassroots classroom teacher). Too often we use the remuneration of our middle to top school management personnel to generalise what is happening in the total sector. The plain truth is that regular classroom teachers are not being paid satisfactorily for the amount of work that they do. If education, according to Senator Johnson, is the key to conquering this world of ignorance, poverty, joblessness and crime, then it can't be an easy task.
We must then conclude that the teacher's job is difficult. As with any good corporation, a motivated worker is more likely to produce higher and better quality output. We should not be afraid to improve the salaries and benefits of our teachers. We should do it and put proper systems of work evaluation to maintain quality from the teachers and ultimately improve the education system.
KEVIN ROBERTS
peter_kar@yahoo.com
