TTUTA: Principal not suspended

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Lynsley Doodhai, yesterday, said principal of the Siparia West Secondary School, Sookoo Sonnylal, had not been suspended from duty because he was not given any notice by the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) to stop reporting for duty.

Doodhai said the TSC was the only body that could suspend or dismiss a teacher, “Therefore, there is no basis for the directive given by the Ministry of Education. Mr Sookoo will continue to be that school’s principal until or if he is directed to do otherwise by the TSC.”

Doodhai said Sookoo was informed by TTUTA that the only body to remove him from the school is the TSC and only if they (the TSC) had any investigation ongoing. He said TTUTA advised Sookoo to return to school because there was no legal impediment barring him from so doing.

“What I have gathered from the attorney’s letter is that if he is not reinstated by four o’clock this afternoon, the attorney will file for judicial review. TTUTA has advised him to go back to school because no one can stop him from doing his work as he has not been given any notice by the TSC.”

Sookoo was removed from the school on October 10 after a video surfaced on social media showing a confrontation between him and a group of students.

On the issue of the extensive flooding affecting several parts of the country, Doodhai was asked whether TTUTA agreed with Education Minister Anthony Garcia allowing principals to assess and monitor the situation and decide whether children likely to be affected could be sent home.

“The principals and teachers have the authority to dismiss schools early if they feel the operation of schools in flood-prone areas are impossible for students to get home safely. I know for a fact that schools in south have been badly affected. These include schools in Barrackpore and Penal. “There are other schools in Caparo and St Helena that were also affected. Parents should also assess the weather conditions carefully before they take a decision to send their children to school, especially if students attend schools in flood-prone areas.”