Cuban teachers arrive despite storm threat

Cuban teachers arrive despite storm threat
published: Monday | August 28, 2006

Nineteen Cuban teachers arrived in Jamaica yesterday, prior to the start
of the new academic year and despite the threat posed to both islands by
a weakened 'Ernesto'.

The teachers, nine men and 10 women, landed at the Norman Manley
International Airport at 2:30 yesterday afternoon as part of the
Jamaica/Cuba Cooperation Programme.

Their arrival brings to 39, the number of Cuban teachers recruited to
the island since 1997 when the programme began.

The group comprises experienced educators, mainly in the field of
Spanish. They are to be employed to the Government for two years. It is
not clear how much they will be paid, but The Gleaner was told their
salaries would be similar to local teachers with the same level of
experience and qualification.

Senior education officer and co-ordinator for secondary schools, Monica
Walters, who was there to greet the Cubans, said most of them would be
placed in rural primary and secondary schools. The majority will be
employed to schools in the Region Six area, where Government is spending
several million dollars to construct classroom spaces for this year's
high number of GSAT achievers.

Region Six comprises St. Catherine and Clarendon. Nine of them will be
placed in primary schools as part of a Government pilot project.

Barbara Nicolas, an educator with 29 years of experience and spokes
person for the group, said the teachers were all delighted to be in
Jamaica and were looking forward to the experience.

"We are here to teach, but we are here to learn from you as well, so we
are hoping that this will be a learning experience," she said.

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