House extends teacher program for five yrs

The House of Representatives has approved a bill extending the postsecondary teacher education program for another five years.

The program was set to expire on Sept. 3.

House Committee on Education chair Rep. Justo Quitugua said his panel, which earlier recommended the approval of House Bill 14-205, finds that the Commonwealth must continue building up its pool of local teachers.

The scholarship program, enacted in 1997, aims to encourage more CNMI scholars to become teachers to serve the Commonwealth’s rapidly growing student population and lessen the costly dependence on recruiting teachers from overseas.

Quitugua’s panel has cited that since 1998, 141 students graduated from Northern Marianas College and University of Guam with Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education.

As of 2003-2004, the Public School System had over 11,000 students.

Quitugua said the teacher program has been successful in serving as an incentive for students aspiring to become teachers.

Quitugua said both PSS and NMC are supportive of the program’s extension, citing the increasing interest among students.

Although the program has been effective, he said there is still a need for the extension “because not all scholarship recipients will choose to become teachers or choose to remain teachers.”

The committee said that in 2000-2001, one of the graduates was employed as a planner while another was employed as executive secretary.

The bill, meantime, requires the submission of an annual report on the administration of the program to the governor, the presiding officers of the Legislature, and the education commissioner.

The report would contain the number of students participating in the program, the number of students who have successfully completed an accredited teacher training program at a college or university, and the number of participating students who have returned to the CNMI to teach in schools.

The committee said the teacher scholarship program had 100 recipients in 2000-2001 and 20 graduates; 82 recipients and 27 graduates in 2001-2001; 80 recipients and 24 graduates in 2002-2003; and 78 recipients and 26 graduates in 2003-2004.

As of spring 2004, it listed 95 freshmen, 37 sophomores, 26 juniors, and 46 seniors at NMC taking up education.