Teacher training issues

RECENTLY, I was with a group of teachers and was reminded that teachers or lecturers are being forced out of the system by the Education Department due to them not possessing a degree.
It is sad that this is happening.
People who are capable of doing a good job are forced to retire just because they do not possess a paper.
The Education Department and the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology should work with universities in the country to help teachers who possess a diploma to go on a study programme and upgrade their qualification to a degree.
This would save money.
New graduates with a degree will take years, if at all, to learn the trade.
Experienced teachers with a diploma already have mastered a trade, they already possess years of experience.
If you force the diploma teachers out, we will lose valuable assets.
Take note: It takes a lot of money and time to train new teachers.
I am also of the view that postgraduate courses in education, mathematics, and other vital areas must be made readily available to graduates who are already in the business of educating the young people.
There are those who possess a degree but may want to learn a bit more in a specialised field.
Subjects that do not need a practical component should be made available by universities for graduates to do by distance education, by also utilising online resources, so that they are better equipped to teach the students in schools.
My particular interest is the teaching of mathematics.
There is a shortage of confident mathematics teachers in the country – as well as in the world, in general.
UK hires maths teachers from around the world because of that. And Australia hires maths teachers from New Zealand.
One strategy to help our education system in PNG is to equip science and business/economics teachers to teach mathematics.
That is, train those who are already in the education system to take on maths as a subject that they can teach confidently.
Some of these teachers are already dealing with maths concepts in their specialised subjects, however they should be offered further maths courses like Calculus, Analytic Geometry, Statistical Methods or Linear Algebra (which are university courses) in a specially-tailored distance education programme to up skill them to teach mathematics.
In the long run, that will save the nation a lot of money.
Most mathematics graduates (or those who studied a fair bit of maths in university) do not end up in teaching.
They go on to other professions and work in other industries and, therefore, there will continue to be a shortage of skilled maths teachers in the country.
It would be better to train the teachers on the ground to become maths teachers by offering postgraduate courses in a distance learning programme.
The programmes could include a postgraduate certificate or diploma in mathematics.
Authorities should consider working on a plan to effect such programmes.

PNG Educator”.