Teachers told: Get qualified in subject areas

THE DEARTH of math and science teachers in Barbados has led to the University of the West Indies creating bachelor’s degrees in math and science education.Director of the School of Education, Dr Jennifer Obidah, said this was not unique to Barbados as there was a need for such qualified teachers in the region as well.“We are very aware of it and want to address it and it starts with the training institutions. We have to do better training, and once trained, the teachers can teach subjects they are qualified in,” she said.Obidah was speaking to the DAILY NATION yesterday after the opening ceremony for the Diploma in Education (primary and secondary) and the Certificate in Educational Management and Administration courses at the Erdiston Teachers Training College.During her feature address, she said there were teachers currently teaching subjects they were not qualified in.  She advised those teachers to “do what they need to” to get that qualification “in the interest of making  the educational system the best”.“On the other hand, you must also insist that principals and the Ministry of Education hire the most qualified people for the job,” she said.She also advised them they had a difficult road ahead and not to expect they could do everything they used  to do before in addition to completing the courses. (CA)