Teachers Union hosts two-day conference

Despite a poor turnout, the inaugural Teachers Union National Educational Conference has been hailed a success by the organizers.{{more}}

The two-day conference, which began on Monday, was held at Frenches House, under the theme “Articulating a vision for educational improvement in St Vincent and the Grenadines.”

The conference was held in commemoration of the Union’s 110th anniversary and was also part of the week of activities to commemorate Teachers Solidarity Week.

“It was a good programme and the feedback from the participants who attended suggested that it was timely and the discussions were rich, but the level of participation from teachers was below acceptable standards,” conference coordinator Curtis King told SEARCHLIGHT.

One of the highlights of the two-day conference was the presentation by Dr George Bristol, who spoke on the topic: “The New Demands for the Changing Role of the Teacher.” Other topics included: “Universal Secondary Access: Issues and Challenges;” “Integrating ICT in Schools: Prospects and Challenges ; and “Gender Issues in the provision of education: the case of St Vincent and the Grenadines.”

“The aim of the convention really was to provide teachers with an opportunity to examine the state of the education system with the advent of universal secondary access. By doing so, we sought to identify the weaknesses and examine the challenges, as well as coming up with strategies to correct those weaknesses and meet the challenges,” King further revealed.

The conference also featured open forums during the two-day gathering, where participants were able to make inquiries, as well as address certain issues related to the teaching profession.

King also disclosed that there are plans to make the event an annual one, but this will be decided following a meeting with the planning committee to review this week’s conference and work from there.(AA)