Thwaites contracts new senior adviser
Published:Thursday | July 5, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Nadisha Hunter, Staff Reporter
VETERAN EDUCATOR Radley Reid has been contracted as a senior adviser to Education Minister Ronald Thwaites.
Reid who has been involved in education for more than 40 years is to serve for three years. He assumed duties June 3.
His role is to advise the minister on initiatives having to do with teaching and learning in the education system.
According to the former principal of Campion College, his plans are to perform his duties in a way that there will be positive outcomes in the education sector.
"I intend to advise to the best of my ability on the section that deals with teaching and learning, which includes what is happening on the ground on the teaching side," he told The Gleaner.
Reid said one of his tasks is to address the shortfalls in the grade four numeracy and literacy tests, so that there can be an improvement in the national average.
Upgrade teachers' skills
"We have to come with programmes that will upgrade the skills of the teachers in order to improve children's performances. We also have to set some standards that both children and teachers will abide by, and it must also involve training on long- and short-term bases to improve the teachers' standards," he added.
Reid said his appointment is an honour for him, after serving for a number of years in the classroom.
"I suppose I can look at it as an honour that I was asked to do this, and also I see it as an extension, as part of my service to the country. I was in the classroom for many years, and now that I am serving on a wider scale, I see it as an honour," he continued.
Education Minister Ronald Thwaites spoke highly about Reid's expertise in the education field, noting that he expects goods results.
"He was appointed because he is a very experienced educator with tremendous insights in the education process," Thwaites said.
Reid taught at Clarendon College and Liguanea Preparatory School before joining Campion College, where he spent 33 years and retired as headmaster in 2005.
He has served on the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) panel for chemistry, the National CXC Council and several committees for the development of CXC syllabuses. He wrote and revised several papers and books in math and science.