Melinda Gates has offered her opinion on how schools should decide which teachers to fire.
Melinda Gates, the American philanthropist and wife of Microsoft's Bill Gates, says schools should look at firing their least effective teachers and not the most recently hired, reports Yahoo News.In an interview with Anna Robertson, Gates reiterated her criticism of "last hired, first fired" policies and instead offered a new way of looking at the system. School administrators who want to reduce staff are currently obligated to lay off teachers who have been on staff the shortest amount of time, but the 46-year-old says this method should be changed. Melinda noted that schools should lay off poorly performing teachers regardless of how long they've been in their profession, saying, "What we're trying to say is don't take the things that look easy, furloughing teachers, that's not a great way to change your education system", adding, "And we're saying, look at who the most effective teachers are and keep those in the system, those are the ones you want to fight for and keep in the system".
Melinda Gates is the co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an organisation which aims to enhance healthcare and reduce poverty as well as enhance access to information technology.