Education Sector Strategic Plan 2004-2015 - Planipolis

Final ESSP
(vii) Such pupils need immediate attention. Schools will be helped to organize their
resources to provide remedial work for them.
(viii) The Ministry will also design and train teachers to use curricula and
instruction methods and materials that are appropriate for pupils in conflict
areas.
(b) Strengthen the teaching force
The second strategy for helping primary pupils achieve their education goals is the
continuing improvement of teaching. This includes a continued effort to recruit
teachers and teacher-trainees. By about 2007 the untrained teachers in the system
should have completed their in-service training through the TDMS, though there
will continue to be some untrained teachers taking posts. Teacher Education will
shift its focus to enrolling and training teachers in Primary Teachers Colleges
(PTCs). The TDMS will be used primarily to give in-service support to qualified
teachers, head teachers, and school communities. The Ministry will increase the
number of tutors to meet the requirements of growing enrolments and teaching
staffs. To create a more efficient link between Coordinating Centre Tutors (CCTs)
and teachers, schools and districts will appoint a mentor teacher in each school to
liaise with the CCT and work with other teachers in the school.
To compensate for the neglect of pre-service training in recent years, the Ministry
will also rehabilitate PTCs and provide them with a full complement of trained staff,
equipment, furniture, and supplies. Management of PTCs will be improved. The
Ministry will continue to improve the conditions of service of primary teachers,
including the introduction of a scheme of service (Strategy 3.1.3).
(c) Use pre-primary programs and other measures to prepare children for the
intellectual requirements of primary school
Many children enter primary school with little preparation for the intellectual tasks it
requires. They come from families in which parents have not gone to school and the
home environment has no exposure to reading matter or incentives to learn to read.
Moreover, many families send their five-year-olds to primary school, even though
the official enrolment age is six.
The Ministry will work with the private sector to provide pre-primary education. It
will establish an early childhood development policy framework and a learning
framework for private pre-primary centres. It will license and monitor private
centres and include early childhood development instructional methods in the PTC
curriculum. It will also advocate for good early childhood development practices in
families and schools and use mass media and other low-cost interventions to help
families prepare children.
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