Pay teachers on performance

THE EDITOR: While I agree with Mr Oliver that a good salary for teachers is essential to retaining the better qualified and experienced teachers in the system, I shudder to think that Mr Oliver would want the same facility extended across the board to non-performing, lazy, and indifferent teachers. In my article of recent publications titled “Teac-hers are not working,” I mentioned just a few shortcomings of teachers in the primary system. I am sure that similar problems of neglect by teachers occur in the secondary system.

I will like to know if Mr Oliver would want to compensate teachers who are short-changing the nation’s children. I therefore recommend that a payment system be worked out based on the performance of teachers. In this system the teacher is paid his/her basic salary but on assessment by independent bodies, made up of experts, they are paid additionally, according to success or performance of their students. This to me is a fair and just system that could encourage non-performing, lazy teachers to start working.

I do not want to leave out the absentee teachers who have been leaving their students unattended to run their taxis or sell goods in the market etc. Neither do I wish to forget the teachers with alcohol and other drug related problems nor those involved in domestic violence. Those of the above should be forced to seek professional counselling at state level or be forced to leave the system quietly. The harm they have inflicted on the children over time may be irreparable. Such teachers need to be weeded out of the profession; sooner than later.

JOHN DE COUTEAU
Diego Martin