By Andrew Smith, Staff Reporter AT THE Gleaner's Editors' Forum yesterday at the company's North Street offices, representatives of parent teachers' associations (PTAs) from 15 schools discussed issues regarding the educational needs of children.
The participants cited the need for critical changes in the system to bring about greater efficiency, and a greater involvement of parents in PTAs.
Yesterday's forum was the start of a series to be held throughout this year as part of The Gleaner's focus on education.
The following are highlights from the forum:
It was felt that there is a need for a national parent teachers' association which would lobby the Government for improvements in education and also to help set criteria for the teachers.
Concern was raised about perceived corruption regarding the fact that it is very hard for a school to fire teachers for any reason.
Active outreach by the PTAs has to be done in order to get more parents interested in the associations and the schools' activities.
Education officers need to visit schools more frequently and check on adherence to lesson plans.
Representatives felt that teachers should be licensed - they should not just be trained but licensed in a similar way that lawyers, after graduation, are called to the bar and licensed.
There should be a national data base of teachers, substitute teachers and retired teachers.
School hours should be extended to incorporate homework programmes at the schools.
A summer programme for teachers should be incorporated so that teachers are trained in dealing with students and to become familiar with the syllabus and curricula.
Incentives should be offered to teachers by the PTAs based on performance.
Parents need to take a more active interest in the performance of their students and the monitoring of their homework and their academic performance.
There is a need for special education classes for children with learning disabilities.
Private prep schools are asking for tax breaks from General Consumption Tax (GCT).
School security needs to be improved in some cases, as instances of robbery outside school gates are frequent.
Resources and teachers should be shared among schools which are in close proximity.
