Longer teaching contract preferred
A proposal to offer a four-year contract to teachers will be heard at the Youth Congress as Speaker Alexis Kosack is scheduled to introduce a bill that will encourage instructors to stay in the CNMI.
Kosack said the annual renewal of teaching contracts gives uncertainty to employees who are often intimated to speak out on issues concerning the state of education in the CNMI.
“They worry about their jobs every year and are afraid to speak out,” she said in an interview.
Along with this over a year contract proposal for teachers, she plans to introduce a bill that will encourage for the recruitment of local teachers.
She said to attract the indigenous population to teaching, local grants should be in placed to allow this group to pursue education while keeping their respective families and job.
As the committee head for natural resources, she intends to introduce bills that will prohibit the use of oxygen tank during diving and fishing.
Tentatively called as the tank release law, she hopes that this future bill will safeguard the water resources in the CNMI.
Together with this bill, the requirement for a fishing license with assigned fees will help augment funding to take care of the environment.
She said local fishermen will be asked to pay $5 for the license, while foreign nationals will pay another price to legally fish in the CNMI.
Her committee will likewise propose a bill that will provide for a turtle sanctuary in the CNMI. She said one Asian country is maintaining a turtle sanctuary where tourists and its population can come in. It will also provide future regulations to govern breeding and eating of turtles in the CNMI.
