Minister of Education Curtis King, says schools across the country will be adequately staffed when they reopen on September 4th.
King speaking on state radio last Friday said that it is still difficult to find teachers for several fields, particularly the hard sciences.
However, the Education Minister announced that more than 171 relief instructors would be hired to provide enough coverage.
According to King, there is generally one teacher for every 12 kids in primary school, and one teacher for every 30 students in secondary school, which is quite good by any standard.
“Having said that, we recognize that there are some schools that may be lacking in terms of discipline rather than numbers.” That is to say, there are some subjects where it is difficult to recruit teachers for subjects such as physics, chemistry, and so on, but the schools are adequately staffed, and we are still making every effort to give the schools with whatever they require.”
According to King, the government will hire more than 171 relief instructors this year.
“You know, every year, we have to meet the needs of these schools for various reasons; sometimes a number of teachers are on study leave, maternity leave, and all sorts of other things that become necessary, and we take on extra teachers to ensure that there is coverage.”
“I must emphasize that the majority of these teachers have at least completed the associate degree program at the teachers college.”
