Teachers, Job to meet on Wednesday

Teachers will meet with Administrator in the Division of Education, Jacqueline Job, next Wednesday 6pm at the Scarborough Library, to discuss the issue of appointments and upgrades from Assistant Teacher positions to Teacher 1 jobs.

The meeting comes after teachers gathered in protest outside the Division’s offices at Dutch Fort Street, Scarborough two weeks ago to register their frustrations with the lack of attention being paid to the matter of placements, despite having the relevant tertiary qualifications.

Some teachers have been waiting as long as seven years for placement.

seven years after receiving the necessary qualification for the University of Trinidad and Tobago and the University of the Southern Caribbean.

Orlando Kerr, Tobago Officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teacher Association (TTUTA) , told Newsday Tobago that next week’s meeting would focus on the appointment of teachers as well as other issues such as working conditions, and lack of security as well as lack of resources and teachers at schools.

Kerr told Newsday Tobago that after initial protest action in April, the Division sent some five recommendations to the Teaching Service Commission on teachers’ appointments, began some repairs to several schools and supplied a photocopying machine to Scarborough Secondary.

He said 141 teachers; 100 from primary schools and 41 from secondary schools were waiting to be appointed, with only 21 recommendations now before the Commission.