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| Wednesday, 5 November 2003 |
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by Ananda Kannangara Former Principal, Royal College, Colombo Lakshman Gomes recently said that a Teacher Appraisal Scheme (TAS) must be formulated by the Ministry of Education to look into the efficiency and dedication of teachers in their respective educational fields. He said under such a scheme, if teachers are found to be dedicated in their service they must be granted special posts or appropriate salary adjustments. He was addressing a special parent-teachers seminar on "Pros and cons of the education system in Sri Lanka" held at Nawarangahala a few days prior to his retirement from Royal College. Parents and teachers bid farewell to Gomes at this function. He stressed that if a similar scheme of assessment of teachers is formulated by the Ministry, then the teachers who are found wanting too could be easily identified and suitably dealt with. "Education is a life-long process which takes place through formal, informal and non-formal ways. Though a procedure for a de-schooling society is being discussed, the school education system is still fully trusted by people as the main agent of providing formal education and socialising for the children," he said. Gomes also highlighted that the school education which is universally accepted should be modified and updated to cater to the needs of the present day society while maintaining its supremacy. "In the school community students and teachers are the most important stakeholders. Therefore teachers do have to play a vital role in developing the total personality of the children besides their academic pursuits," he said. The former Principal said that most of the present day teachers have completely neglected the aspect of character development of children and they are thoroughly concerned about covering the syllabuses and preparing the students for examinations. "It is a pity that these teachers seem to have completely neglected the aspect of character development and spend a very little time on problems of the children," he said. He said that the teachers consider that the discipline of children is not rather so important than teaching-learning process or covering syllabuses. Gomes also said that the in-service teacher programmes, conducted by the Ministry of Education for teachers in order to discuss the subject areas of the syllabuses, the new evaluation processes and teaching methodology should be conducted with a view to changing this unhealthy attitude making it wider, deeper and more progressive, so that a teacher can develop the potential of the child while making him a well-disciplined individual who will in turn become a useful citizen. Gomes said that the door should not be opened for the people who are devoid of proper moral values to enter the teaching profession despite their academic qualifications. Soon after new teachers are recruited, a well-planned teacher education programme should be implemented to make them suitable teachers," he said. He said that teaching is the noblest profession and it is the responsibility of all teachers to maintain the supremacy of the profession. They are expected to be creators of education which will produce creators of the future. |
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