Teachers deserve comprehensive support, not populist government playing with education, announced the Center for Civic Education (CGO).
On the occasion of World Teachers' Day, that non-governmental organization (NGO) said that the education system is being tested by daily and numerous challenges and demands, which is accompanied by the poor financial position of teachers.
"Teachers are the key drivers in the education system, and together with their students, they should also be the bearers of progressive forces. However, in order to really achieve this, a different understanding of the role of education and upbringing by decision-makers and a different application of educational policies that will not neglect teachers. Namely, the basic knowledge, habits and skills of children are based on the work of the creators of the teaching and those who carry out the teaching," the statement of the CGE, signed by Snežana Kaluđerović, senior legal advisor, points out.
CGO stated that educators spend the most time with children, and the constant presence of teachers is not only an expression of the changes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, but also of modern times.
"Although the coronavirus pandemic has significantly collapsed the quality of education, which has been weakened for a long time, the Government is not taking appropriate measures to strengthen the unenviable position of the educational staff and to deal with the situation in which they found themselves together with their students. Teachers in Montenegro work in bad conditions, starting from outdated school infrastructure, didactic materials, tools and equipment at their disposal, beyond the possibility of improvement, and unacceptably low compensation is added to this. , pedagogues in recognizing the needs and interests of all students. Form and administration begin to prevail, while the essence of education and upbringing is missing. As a result, children go to school because it is their duty, but they learn less and less at school, while many teachers go to work knowing that they have to pay their obligations at the end of the month, without the enthusiasm that this work should bring, and the parents are partially satisfied, believing that their child is in a safe place," the CGO statement reads.
They said that this year teachers are faced with another challenge of establishing good relations between Montenegrin students and children of Ukrainian and Russian migrants who come from war zones.
"That's why teachers need additional support and guidelines for working with foreigners, in order to cope with this challenge in addition to the existing ones in an attempt to stay up to the task of pedagogy and to persevere in the goal of spreading understanding, tolerance and protection of all forms of discrimination against children in education. process," the announcement reads.
The CGE stated that they believe that there is enough creativity and motivation in the teaching staff, but also that they must receive support for their work, in order to contribute to the success of students in the educational process.
"Therefore, we call on the Government to address the problems in education in a more systematic and committed manner, without populism and improvisation. The CGE calls on the educational community to participate more actively in public policies and design the development projects of the institutions where they work. It is necessary to establish practice and allow institutions to have their own incomes that would contribute to the development of that institution, and enable bonuses on the salaries of its employees. This could be one of the ways to improve the working conditions in educational institutions, but also the position of the teachers themselves," said the CGE.
World Teachers' Day was proclaimed by UNESCO in 1994 to commemorate the signing of the Recommendation on the Status of Teachers on October 5, 1966.
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