Dr. Ray Lindley, Executive Director at American International Accreditation Association of Schools and Colleges (AIAASC), sheds light on one of the primary issues we face in the education sector…

No one system or sector is perfect. I have often seen a lack of teaching skills or training for educators. There is a huge number of teachers in this part of the world who aren’t trained in the art of teaching.

I’ve seen teachers’ weekly/monthly plans: go in on the first day, tell the students this; go in on the next day, tell the students that; etc; and then on the last day of the week, give the students a test to see if they listened or collected information from the textbook. There has to be a better approach or a strategy before the teacher walks into a class and takes the responsibility of teaching and shaping individuals.

This lack of training essentially stems from another glitch in the system. We basically see two kinds of private school owners – one is very dedicated to education and is willing to invest money to make the system better, and the other sees it as a lucrative business and aims to maximize revenue.

Unfortunately, it’s the latter we often see. These schools collect all the tuition yet don’t pay their staff well. A direct consequence of this is an unhappy group of teachers, and this ultimately results in high turnover.

If the money earned from tuition can be invested in human capital – training programs, seminars, workshops etc. – the return will change the world. 

Training teachers is essential. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this.