Garcia: Fired staff were ‘surplus’

MINISTER of Education Anthony Garcia and his junior minister Dr Lovell Francis gave contradictory views on the issue of the firing last Friday of staff members of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).

While Garcia told the Senate that the UTT staff members who received termination letters, were deemed “surplus” to the university’s needs, Francis at an event in Couva, confirmed that all dismissal letters sent to UTT lecturers had been withdrawn (see story below). At no time during his talk in the Senate, did the minister reveal that dismissal letters were withdrawn.

Speaking during the urgent questions segment of the sitting and in response to a question from Opposition Senator Khadijah Ameen on how termination letters served to 30 members of staff would affect UTT and delivery of its academic programme, Garcia said the UTT is involved in teaching and research and the computation of individual workloads has to take into account both outputs. “After a thorough analysis of the staffing at UTT and the workload of lecturers, those who have been scheduled for termination are surplus to the requirements of the university to provide the same level and quality of service and programmes that currently obtain. Therefore the termination of those persons will have no impact on the institution’s ability to deliver its academic programmes,” Garcia said.

Ameen said there were reports of another 100 people set to be dismissed from UTT and asked Garcia to confirm, but Senate President Christine Kangaloo did not allow the question. Ameen then asked, with a lecturer dismissed, what would happen to the course. Garcia responded that he did not micromanage UTT and that would be a better question for its board and management. On Monday, 11 UTT lecturers who were dismissed from the Valsayn campus gave Garcia until today to rescind their dismissal letters or face a legal challenge. UTT president Prof Sarim Al-Zubaidy has reported that first phase of “restructuring” at the UTT began last Friday with the separation of 59 members of its academic staff. He said the criteria used were based on the UTT’s current and future needs.