Teachers the center of attention in MoE’s Education Sector Plan

#Providenciales, July 22, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – The partnership between the Ministry of Education, Youth, Culture, Library and Social Services and the European Union will not only benefit the thousands of students across the country, but the hundreds of men and women who teach them.  A key objective in the 2018-2022 Education Sector Plan is to improve Teachers’ Professional Development.

The targets under the Education Sector Plan, once achieved, will result in an increase in the number of teachers, a reduction of class sizes for a better teacher-to-student ratio and more highly trained teachers.

The Plan highlights that, “the availability of sufficient, well qualified teachers is critical in achieving the outcomes of this Plan and priority must be placed on improving teacher quality. It is imperative that all teachers be well trained and resourced and be accepted by society in general as a professional body of education practitioners.”

It is anticipated that the improvements within the Education Sector, which includes affordable, quality opportunities for tertiary level advancement at the Turks and Caicos Community College or the newly re-established, Open Campus of the University of the West Indies will motivate teachers’ personal and professional development plans.

“Teachers, for their part, must be prepared to make every effort to better themselves professionally, to keep abreast of the latest curriculum innovations and to act in a professional and responsible manner. In return, teachers should expect to be rewarded and remunerated fairly based upon their qualifications, their responsibilities and their performance.”

The Ministry of Education wants more robust exchange with teachers in the sector, and the Plan points to scholarships and grants to boost the number of Turks and Caicos Islanders entering the teaching service.

Overcrowding in classrooms can be reduced by 50 percent by 2020 with programs for substitute teachers, assistant teachers and internships to be introduced. 

Strategic Imperative 3 should result in a 20 percent increase in the number of Turks and Caicos Islanders in the teaching profession over the next five years.

“Improving the Education System in the TCI…..Together we can do it”