Nationwide Education Consultation Complete

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News Source: The Guardian

 The Ministry of Education finished a nationwide consultation with educators on Wednesday, July 1, in San Pedro Town. The purpose of the consultation was to receive feedback from stakeholders in education about the revisions of the Education Act.

The revised act was drafted in 2007. However, the Minister of Education, Hon. Patrick Faber, decided to get everyone involved and informed about the Act before going forward. Therefore, the tour commenced on June 10 and the Chief Executive Officer and other senior representatives of the Ministry of Education visited every district of the country to discuss the Act and listen to the issues of concern.

Arlette Gomez, Information Officer of the Ministry, said that the two main topics were the Teaching Services Commission and the removal of corporal punishment. The Teaching Services Commission is a body formed for the purpose of creating equity and accountability in the treatment of teachers. The commission will be responsible for the hiring and firing of teachers. Most have rejoiced over the idea of the commission. They spoke about days when church based schools would fire single mothers because they have children out of wedlock. They also spoke about the fact that some schools hire teachers based upon their religious denomination and not their academic qualifications. The Teaching Services Commission will put and end to those practices.

There has been little opposition to the commission. Only SJC’s president, Frank Garbutt, has come out against it. The reason why there is not much opposition is because everyone had an input in the formation of the commission. In 2008, the Hon. Patrick Faber formed a working group to develop the Teaching Services Commission. Managers and representatives from all institutions were involved in that development; even the Manager of Catholic Schools was involved in the process.

The other issue raised was the removal of corporal punishment in primary school. The present rule on that form of punishment is that it should only be used as a last resort and only the principal or a senior teacher to whom permission has been granted can carry out such punishment. The revision calls for the elimination of corporal punishment completely and some stakeholders do not agree. Gomez said, “That is the reason for the consultation - to find areas where we agree and disagree in an effort to develop the best system possible.”

All the findings will be reviewed before the ministry takes the Act before the Legislative Assembly. The Ministry of Education said that its only goal is to “Improve the quality of Education in Belize”.

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