Education system must adapt to change – SVGTU President

The president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVGTU) Oswald Robinson believes that if the education system is equipped with quality tools, teaching and leadership, St Vincent and the Grenadines would produce persons who would be able to compete regionally and globally.

“Education is a fundamental human right and teachers are strategically placed to help that right to be realized, so that our nation…{{more}}would grow, we would develop and we could produce persons that would be able to compete regionally and globally.”

Robinson, who was speaking at the opening of the SVGTU Teachers Conference at Frenches House yesterday, noted that the union is currently partnering with universities to offer teachers the opportunity to further their studies and keep abreast of what is happening in the world, especially in the area of information technology.

The Union leader told members they must grasp the opportunities awarded to them to further their studies and help them keep up with changes.

“We, as educators, are in the business of education. We have to be apt to change, otherwise we would be left behind, given the fact that St Vincent and the Grenadines has placed education as the key to alleviate poverty.”

Robinson also explained that the union often hosts these workshops, training seminars and conferences as a means of training teachers, because he is of the opinion that one’s learning does not end when one finishes school.

He also told the audience, mostly comprised of teachers, that teaching is one of the noblest professions and teachers must realize that they have been given the task of molding the minds of the future leaders of this world.

He, however, believes that there is a need for improvement in the way the curriculum is set.

“If the curriculum is not of quality, if it is not of relevance, it makes no sense.

“We have to make our classroom all-inclusive, so we need a clear policy on all-inclusive education,” he stated.

Robinson explained that students have varied ways of learning and with that in mind, teachers need to be more adept and more flexible in their teaching proficiency.

The trade unionist believes that there is room for diversity since St Vincent and the Grenadines is very diverse and they are molding minds not only to work in the region, but globally as well.

The SVGTU Education Conference is being held under the theme “Quality Education: Its Relevance to National Development” and is expected to end today. (CM)