International school teachers for paper marking: Exams Department to go ahead with plan
View(s):The Examinations Department will go ahead with a proposal to enlist teachers from international schools for paper marking despite objections from trade unions, a senior Education Ministry official said.
The Examinations Commissioner General Sanath Pujitha said the Ministry plans to obtain the services of international school teachers to mark English medium papers due to the shortages of Government and private school teachers.
Mr Pujitha said priority will be given to teachers in the subjects of science, physics, biology, chemistry and mathematics. He also said, only those who have taught the local syllabus for three years will be enlisted.
Mr Pujitha said even though teacher unions are opposed to the plan, they should realise these teachers had obtained the same degrees obtained by the local school teachers.
He also said, currently due to the lack of qualified teachers they are forced to recheck the papers to make sure the papers have been marked correctly.
Meanwhile, the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) said the Government had been employing Government school teachers who are qualified and posted to schools, after training in Government training institutions. But private and international schools’ methodology in teacher recruitment is not clear, they said.
The CTU further said their qualifications in marking A/L exam papers is questionable. They also pointed out that these teachers teach Edexcel and the Cambridge syllabi and are not familiar with the local syllabus.
CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said this will gravely affect the students who sit for exams. He also said it is discriminatory to the 247,000 teachers serving in Government schools.
“We condemn such actions, and if this plan is implemented despite our protests we will be forced to take severe action,” he said. (C )