Even as moves are being made to improve teachers’ education, an innovative tactic being employed by the Ministry of Education is to reduce the time in which graduates of the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) are able to complete the Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Education (B.Ed) at the University of Guyana (UG).Previously, completing the programme spanned a period of seven years, but according to Project Coordinator of the Guyana Improving Teacher Education Project (GITEP), Tota Mangar, moves have been made to reduce the time to four years.This, according to him, would translate to the trainee teachers undertaking two years of the Associate Degree in Education (ADE) programme at CPCE and another two years to complete the B.Ed at UG.Tota Mangar, GITEP Project CoordinatorIn fact, Mangar disclosed during an interview with this publication yesterday,Cheap Jerseys For Sale, that the University is set to accept the first batch of the CPCE ADE graduates into its B.Ed programme when the new academic year commences next month.He explained that the move was prompted by the concerns of education officials, over the years, in relation to the length of time it takes to train a teacher to the level of the B.Ed.In the past,Wholesale Jerseys, he explained, trainee teachers had to undertake the Teachers’ Certificate programme at CPCE then return to their respective schools to work for two years,Cheap NFL Jerseys, then proceed to UG to do the one-year Certificate in Education programme before moving on to a four-year B.Ed programme.“In a way we have gone beyond that now,” said Mangar who disclosed that since 2011 moves were made by the Education Ministry, through GITEP, to introduce a two-year Associate Degree programme at CPCE which is so designed to allow students to move directly onto UG to complete the third and fourth year of the B.Ed programme.Mangar disclosed that the move is intended to phase out the Teachers’ Certificate programme and replace it with the Associate Degree, which is intense enough to prepare students for the B.Ed programme.However, although the avenue is available for teachers to complete training in a shorter period,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, Mangar noted that teachers are not obligated to proceed to UG immediately after completing the ADE.“Teachers can go back into the school system after completing the Associate Degree or if they want they can continue the training…the option is there for them to choose.”And in order to cater to the advanced CPCE graduates, Mangar said that the University’s School of Education and Humanities,NFL Jerseys China, which is responsible for the training of teachers, has been tasked with revising its B.Ed programme.But despite the fact that the CPCE programme has been intensified, Mangar pointed out that the minimum five Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects entry requirement to the tertiary institution has not changed.Currently, CPCE is in the process of registering a new batch of students who will benefit from the programme.But while the primary aim of GITEP is to put measures in place to ensure that a high quality of teachers are dispatched into the education system,Wholesale Football Jerseys, Mangar said that the project is also tasked with facilitating capacity building for the lecturers at CPCE as well.“Right now a number of staff members are doing Master’s and Doctorate programmes funded by the project.” Similarly, he said that the School of Education and Humanities has been mirroring the staff development moves at CPCE, whereby staff members there are earning online masters.