"CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT" - it's a long standing requirement for teachers to get their license renewed. And while it has been on the books, it is rarely enforced. That is, up to now - when it has become a strict requirement. And if you don't do the houses, you don't get licensed. And without a license teachers cannot teach.
That required 120 hours of training is proving to be a strain for some teachers - and, for example, it's what forced veteran Orange Walk teacher Otilio Munoz to resign.
That resignation after 27 years has brought the issue into shop focus. Today we spoke to the Education CEO about it via zoom and she said most teachers have completed their training - it's just a small percentage who are not in so far:
Dian Maheia, CEO, MOECST
"From the numbers that we have, the indication that we have, there's only about 3% of teachers who have not submitted applications for their license renewal at this time. We've been working in collaboration with the BNTU."
"They've been very consistent in updating their surveys and sending to us at the Ministry the lists of teachers who have questions, concerns regarding the reports that they've gotten from the TLI or not gotten from the TLI, so that with the lists of names that we get from the BNTU, our respective units are doing the reviews and the checks so that we make sure that if there's something that we're missing, but the union is getting feedback from that particular teacher that we're trying to respond to ensure that we're responding to the needs. Maybe what we need to clarify is that the kinds of workshops that are being offered for continuous professional development are topics that are varied and already there have been changes in the way that CPD is being offered."
"One of the changes has been in looking at the values, if you will, how many hours you put in for time compared to how many hours that workshop counts as if that's clear. If this is an eight -hour combined workshop session, how many hours do you get for that?"
"That's already been reviewed based on feedback from teachers already, so I don't know that really that's such an issue anymore. I think that issue has already been addressed from what we've gotten and it's been addressed by re -evaluating how much credit, if you will, is given to the individual workshops."
"You know, the Ministry of Education provides something like, I think it's like between 80 to 90% of the workshop offerings that are being given right now. And the Ministry's offerings are free."
