CDC Support Teachers Testing

The Congress for Democratic Change or CDC’s Montserrado Chapter has thrown its support to the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry the Education, for the testing of teachers of Public schools around the Country.

According to Chapter Secretary General Robertson Siaway, the Ministry of Education’s initiative to test teachers of public schools was important for the education sector and the well-being of Liberian students in these public schools.

Mr. Siaway, who said he has been a classroom teacher for the past sixteen years, made the remarks Wednesday on a local radio talk show – the Prime Morning Drive or PMD on Prime FM in Monrovia. The CDC official noted that if a teacher would consider giving a student a test in order to know whether or not such student is qualified for the next class, the same should also be applied to teachers for the purpose of evaluating them as they impact knowledge in the future generation.

“I seriously agreed with the Ministry of Education to carry on the testing of the public school teachers around the country; because the way of some these teachers enter the sector is not the right way- some of them don’t even apply for the job, and before you look, they are already in the sector – all in the of impacting the future generation,” Mr. Siaway disclosed.

Recently, it was reported that the Deputy Minister of Education, Aaron Tingban, said high school graduates here in Liberia can be compared to 4th graders in the United States. Quoting a survey report from Indiana University in the United States, Minister Tingban told the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism or MICAT regular press briefing that high school graduates in Liberia were compared to 4th graders in the US.

But opposing to the Minister statement, a Lofa County Lawmaker noted that the quotation from the Education Ministry was “harsh.” Though Representative Mariamu Fofana pointed out that in some cases such quotation was a reality, it was prudent for the ministry to clarify the yardstick to be used to test teachers, as well as the plans if these teachers fail the test.

The Ministry of Education had issued a release indicating that all Public School Teachers in Liberia would write a public test to determine the competence and capacity of each teacher. According to the release, the test would also determine the training needs of each teacher, as well as help the Ministry to deploy and redeploy teachers according to their levels of competence.

By Ben P. Wesee-Edited by George Barpeen