The Ministry of Education and Training is launching a new campaign designed to boost Caymanian participation in the teaching profession.
Education minister Rolston Anglin said the ‘Future Teacher’ campaign aimed at young people in education will roll out in three phases beginning this month.
“It’s mainly focused around the fact that there’s a global shortage in teachers,” he said in a government YouTube video on 16 June.
“Knowing that there’s a global shortage in teachers, and we already have a limited population pool, that makes the challenge even more acute.
“But for us, it is about getting more Caymanian teachers in the system and keeping them there.”
Currently, less than half of the teaching professionals in the islands’ schools are Caymanian.
The minister emphasised the importance of Caymanian representation in classrooms for cultural reasons.
“Students seeing a Caymanian in the classroom has impact,” Anglin said.
“It is about that cultural experience of our children seeing a person that they know is a Caymanian, bringing that same history, same culture, same set of values to the classroom.”
He would like to see more young men in the teaching profession as well.
Three-phase rollout
Chief officer Cetonya Cacho outlined the campaign structure.
Phase one will concentrate on years nine to 12 in high schools, phase two will focus on year 13, and phase three will target tertiary students on scholarships.
“We wanted to reach out to people who may have another profession and who are interested in transferring into education and into teaching,” Cacho added.
Phase one runs from June through July, with in-person sessions planned at Clifton Hunter High School on 24 June, John Gray High School on 30 June, and Layman E Scott Sr High School on 1 July. All activities kick off at 4pm.
The sessions will feature young education professionals, UCCI faculty, scholarship secretariat representatives, and HR units.
Students will complete future teacher interest forms for tracking and support.
Peer tutoring programme
A peer tutoring programme will be introduced later in the year, pairing older students interested in teaching with younger classmates.
“This portion of it is really targeted for our high school students… the plan is to have our older students who are interested in teaching pair teach some of their younger classmates,” Cacho explained.
The programme will help students meet community service graduation requirements while exploring teaching as a career path.
Both officials stressed that education careers extend beyond traditional teaching roles.
“When we look at the impact, I want parents and children to remember that it isn’t just about the scholarship,” Anglin said.
“It isn’t just about those who are going to go off and thinking it’s just going to be a career in teaching.
“You can be an education psychologist, school counsellor, occupational therapist,” the minister said.
Currently, there are 17 people in teacher education programmes, which officials say acknowledges an interest in the idea.
