By Mabinty M. Kamara
In a bid to strengthen its professional status, the Sierra Leone Teaching Service Commission (TSC) is set to introduce license system as requirement to practice the teaching profession in Sierra Leone.
The process of registering and licensing teachers according to TSC officials would continue this year with World Bank support.
Speaking on behalf of the Chairman of the Teaching Service Commission, Sorie I. Turay, Chief Education Secretary at TSC said the African Federation of Teachers of which Sierra Leone is a member has said that the law for registration for the license is that there must be an assessment through an examination, to qualify a teacher for the license.
He noted that the exam is not intended to fail anybody as long as you understand English Language which is the country’s major medium of exchange and basic Arithmetic’s.
He added that there will be separate exams for the TCE, HTC and the rest, with the possibility of payment of a small fee that qualifies one into the system.
“We want to make the profession like any other profession, like the lawyers, the doctors, the engineers. Lawyers do take their exams, they go through the law school, and the engineers too have the Institute of Engineers. So there are processes you take to make you a professional. We too want to join the community so nations. We want to as Sierra Leonean teachers be able to teach in any other country with our qualifications and perform because we are part of a community of nations so our qualifications must also be recognized,” he said.
Turay was speaking at an engagement held between the Sierra Leone Teachers Union and the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) at the Hotel 5/10, Kissy in Freetown to sensitize teachers on their operations.
He added that the consultant to agree on the bench marks of the exams is already in town and that the questions are computer based that will be generated by the system, adding that there will be as much questions in the bank that even if you are to take the exams twice, the questions will not repeat.
He added that the TSC will be training teachers who teach children from primary one to three to get them equipped with the necessary skills needed for the children to learn better and faster.
Speaking at the event, the President of the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) Mohamed Sallieu Bangura, applauded the government’s efforts in ensuring that the matters related to teachers welfare are considered important, but said that there was need for more to be done due to the economic trends of the country.
“We thank his Excellency for giving us the 30% increment but sir, with the rise in cost of living, we are still looking forward for more improvement in the salaries and conditions of service of teachers in this country,” he said in a statement partly directed at President Julius Maada Bio.
In response to the proposal of the Teachers regulating body, Theresa Saccoh, head of Conference of Head Teachers said as teachers, they welcome the idea of them being licensed to boost their professional capacities and that they are not afraid of exams because they are the ones that conduct examination for other professionals.
However she said that if the license will equate their professional level to other professions like law, medicine and engineering, then they must consider improving their conditions of service like those professions.
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