School assistants on duty

Government’s school assistant programme has gotten underway.

Some of the 220 monitors who worked nursery, primary and special needs schools during the COVID-19 pandemic started their duties as school assistants on Monday after two weeks of training at Erdiston Teachers’ Training College.

Minister of Education Kay McConney disclosed this during the church service at the Collymore Rock Church of the Nazarene to mark the start of Education Month.

She said the assistants would be allocated to various schools within the primary school system.

“It is an excellent opportunity for us to be able to give teachers support that would allow the teachers to focus on teaching,” McConney said, explaining that the assistants would also help with after-school activities.

The initiative was the brainchild of the president of the Association of Public Primary School Principals Ivan Clarke who negotiated with the ministry to implement the system.

He said he was pleased to see it come to fruition.

Clarke said the monitors helped schools’ day-to-day operations run more smoothly and made a significant impact on ensuring order and discipline among students.

McConney said the assistants would undergo further training. She encouraged primary school principals to help mentor them, let them be aids in the classroom and, if required, point out additional areas of training they may need to be more effective in the classroom.
(SZB)