Pre-empting indiscipline

Government’s plan to institute a Substitute Teachers Programme for all secondary schools from September should reduce the level of indiscipline at many of the nation’s secondary schools through ensuring that the students are continuously supervised and taught. A pool of these substitute teachers will be created by the Ministry of Education from qualified persons, including retired teachers, and principals will be able to access the personnel once they are aware that staff would be off duty on a short term basis, for example through maternity leave, planned absence and extended sick leave. It is a system that has been long in existence in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, among others.

A factor of student indiscipline has long been with respect to that of schoolchildren remaining unsupervised as well as untaught for varying periods either through teachers absenting themselves from work with or without official permission, or when leave of absence is granted, their not being replaced. In many cases with no one to supervise them, the students become restless and initiate or play follow the leader in bad behaviour. The more serious students resent the break in continuity of being taught and feel that they are missing out on keeping pace with their studies, through an unwanted gap not only in direct teaching, but in posing questions to their teachers on matters concerning their work schedule. Both groups of students lose, particularly with extended teacher absence, when the lack of supervision encourages some of the less concerned students to engage in inappropriate behaviour, disturbing those who are anxious to get on with their work.

Minister of Education, Senator Hazel Manning, advised media representatives at Thursday’s weekly post Cabinet news conference that the names and required information concerning persons comprising the pool would be placed on a database. Principals, who are aware of impending teacher shortages, will access the database and request substitute teachers. With the advice and the all clear they will then contact the persons. While Minister Manning did not provide details as to the stipend to be received by a substitute teacher, nonetheless it should be substantial enough to attract dedicated persons. There should be safeguards, however, to ensure that the programme is not abused, and systems put in place to weed out those who are in it for the joy ride.

The Education Minister has pointed out that a record of the performance of substitute teachers would be kept to determine their suitability for further employment. Mrs Manning has stated that there was wide consultation with all stakeholders in the preparation of the final report on the Substitute Teachers Programme model, and that the system would be driven by technology and administered by the Education Ministry’s district officers and by the schools themselves. The programme, if properly run, will keep committed students focused and at the same time pre-empt student indiscipline.