Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/5260/-1/139/
|
ATU President Puts Forward Teachers' Case
|
“Better working conditions for teachers mean better learning conditions for learners,” President of the Anguilla Teachers Union, Leroy Hill, declared as he delivered a message on Monday, October 1, in observance of World Teachers’ Week.
|
|
Mr. Leroy Hill
|
In his message under the theme “Quality Teachers for Quality Education: Better working conditions for a brighter Future,” he called on his union members to join others around the world to recognise the efforts being made by teachers.
“At all levels of education, teachers are at the very heart of the efforts made to establish the common foundations for the acquisition of skills, knowledge and life-long learning,” he said. “In so many respects, the future of the world is in the hands of teachers. The responsibilities entrusted to a teacher are great and their efforts in fulfilling that responsibility should not be forgotten nor should they be ignored.”
Hill told his teaching colleagues that their job was timeless and would be remembered for years beyond the walls of the classroom. “It is our duty to work hard to produce the best results using the resources at our disposal…We call upon government to recognise the pivotal role that we play by taking heed to the recommendations made by UNESCO in a 1996 report on the status of teachers,” he said.
Those recommendations include that teachers’ salaries should reflect the importance to society of the teaching function and the responsibilities which fall on them from the time of their entry into the service; that teachers’ salaries should compare favourably with those paid in other occupations requiring similar or equivalent qualifications; and teachers should be provided with the means to ensure a reasonable standard of living for themselves and their families as well as to invest in further education or in the pursuit of cultural activities, thus enhancing their professional qualification.
“Teacher attrition and shortage continues to be a growing dilemma in Anguilla,” Mr. Hill went on. “Our qualified, trained teachers are leaving. We as educators must come up with reasonable ways to keep our trained teachers in the classroom. Let us work together to come up with a viable solution. We believe that the proper implementation of a teaching service commission in Anguilla can be profitable and we have put forward a recommendation to the Minister.
“We believe that our classrooms should be safe and clean places for students to learn. In this time and age we should not have to be working in rooms infested with bat droppings…We put our students and ourselves at risk when we expose ourselves to such unhealthy situations.
“At some of our schools there is lack of space for vital services such as ESL and Counselling. Many teachers arrive to work in untidy classrooms and have to spend much time cleaning before they teach; many classes are overcrowded; and charging teachers of foreign nationalities exorbitant immigration fees when we are in dire need of their service. These conditions need to be addressed because they influence the quality of education we offer to students.
The Teachers’ Union President stressed that teachers would continue to condemn all acts of school violence and the disregard of school authority to reprimand students. “We ask members of the community to allow the normal course of law to prevail. We stand firm that such attitude towards school operation will not be tolerated as it poses a threat to the safety of the students and staff members as well,” Hill added.