Parents call for speedy recruiting of teachers for ESHS
One of the biggest criticisms of the controversial 12th Grade Programme is that it was prematurely implemented by Minister for Education and Culture Hon Myron V. Walwyn (AL), with the final year students having to now be housed at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC), which in itself has presented many problems.
Another issue is the undue strain that has been brought on the schools, its administration, students, and parents and by extension the general community.
It has been said too that the lower Forms have been suffering with shortage of teachers, also blamed on the 12th Grade Programme.
It was just yesterday, November 7, 2016 that this news site was contacted and reminded by an aggrieved parent about the shortage of teachers at especially the Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS).
“I have a child in the 1st form and up until this day they do not have a math teacher, not a music, or PE teacher, a math teacher. That is a main subject and there is no teacher for my child’s class,” said the woman.
Following the complaint by the parent this news site did make contact with several other parents and teachers of the very school who further confirmed the matter.
The woman said that several attempts were made by herself and several other parents to get from the administration of the school how many teachers are needed for the school to have its full complement of teachers but that effort has not yield much fruit.
“Recently they called us the parents of the first form student for a meeting only to discuss with us that our children are being ‘bad’. But what are they expecting when children from all walks of life are left unattended without a teacher for several periods per week,” alleged the woman.
She added, “I am not condoning the children being bad or disruptive not for one moment, some of us parents need discipline our children better but come right there and then we also asked the teachers what about the shortage of teacher that has our children left in the open for several periods and they could not give us any answer and had the gall to tell us the meeting was to solely discuss our children’s behaviour.”
Volunteer teachers needed?
While that parent pondered the availability of former Minister for Education Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R3) to possibly volunteer some time in taking up some math sessions at the high school, others expressed that this is something that the community needs to come together on and become volunteers to save the generation of tomorrow.
“All politics aside now, we have many well-educated persons in various subject areas who have the time on their hands that can come together and let us fill the gaps in our schools. These are the children who are going to be in the positions to run this country in years to come and if you allow them to fall through the cracks now woe be unto us in our rocking chairs,” added another parent.
At the start of the school year Acting Principal of the ESHS Ms Sandy M. Underhill had revealed that the school had employed some 24 new teachers and were in need of 14 more.
The student population at the leading secondary school in the territory has seen a 21 percent increase, having some 1,593 students.
Efforts to get an official comment from the Department of Education were not successful.
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24 Responses to “Parents call for speedy recruiting of teachers for ESHS”
And having a class of unruly children does not help on top of it. Not having a teacher in your class is NO excuse to be loitering and disruptive. Some children behave well in front their parents and then give hell in school. To say that a child will only behave if a teacher is present means we as parents are failing in the discipline department. When you send your child out they are a reflection of you and your home. If the school says your child is misbehaving then handle the behavior of your child and remind her or him to be a leader not a follower. Just because everybody in the class talking doesn't mean they have to talk too. The principal is not responsible for placing teachers in your children's classes the department and ministry is!
$100 000 may not be able to sustain a junior minister but less than $30 000 should be able to adequately sustain you.