WHP teachers support OBE

By YVONNE HAIP
TEACHERS in Western Highland have announced their support for the outcomes-based education (OBE) system but want teachers’ reforms in place before the 2011 school year starts.
They said this in response to the MPs’ hefty 52% pay increase announced recently.
They said teachers, as vital service providers, had to be remunerated for their hard work.
Members of the teachers’ rights movement group, who have been demanding an open debate with education authorities, said it was unfair that teachers were not compensated for the work they did.
Group president, Nolbert Kami, and counterpart Nius Rom, said if MPs could allow for their own pay increases, then teachers also needed to see positive changes in their salaries and suggested a 30%  increase.
They also said arguments presented by education authorities in the media recently on OBE were not convincing and the successes and failures of OBE still needed to be discussed.
Rom said by Feb 1, upon report into school, the teachers would decide what cause of action to take next.
He said even if they were risking their jobs, they believed that what they were doing was correct and was for a good cause.
He said during the six weeks of school holidays, education authorities had to look into the issue and fast track failures in OBE, come up with remedial exercises, review OBE in partnership with the implementers and come up with a solution for next year.
Rom added that while the teachers were in support of the teachers’ union and the reformed system, OBE still needed to be reviewed soon because over the past 15 years, since its implementation, there had been many failures.
He said an example of this showed through the exam results this year which were conducted under the OBE system.