CPCE to provide online training for teachers

The Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) will soon have a full online school to train teachers who cannot access its physical facilities, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand announced on Friday.

She said the aim is to create a strong teaching service, noting that in 1992, there were about 30 per cent trained teachers and now, approximately about 80 per cent of teachers are trained in Guyana.

“We still have a lot of untrained teachers in the classroom and so very soon; I have great pleasure in saying very soon, and this is the first time I am publicly saying it, we are going to be launching off at CPCE, a full online school.

“We don’t mean teaching on the internet alone, we mean it’s a full online school with books and resources and you can register there and tutoring will happen there,” the minister explained.

With this new initiative, the Education Minister said there is already a huge increase in the number of applications for this year.

“So instead of seeing 800 as our intake, we have already gotten about 2,000 applications for this year.”

According to Manickchand, the online service at CPCE can also be offered to teachers in the Caribbean and even internationally for those desirous of being qualified in the profession.

“We have to have good school teachers, trained teachers; teachers who are interested in not just turning up and opening school doors but interested in teaching effectively, making sure not only that I stand up and deliver in the classroom but that it reaches every child,” Manickchand noted.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a severe impact on the education sector as schools remain closed for majority of students.