Judge to rule on TTUTA's SBA dispute in September

ARE teachers contractually obligated to mark school-based assessments (SBAs) for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency (CAPE) examinations of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC)?

This is the question Justice Vasheist Kokaram has been asked to determine by the TT Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA). He will give his decision on September 11.

Lead counsel for the union, Deborah Peake, SC, Monday argued that teachers’ job specifications made no mention of marking SBAs for CXC.

TTUTA’s position is that the marking of SBAs, which are an integral component of the examinations set and administered by CXC at the CSEC and CAPE levels, does not form part of the duties of teachers under their contracts of employment and consequently they are under no legal obligation to do so.

In 2018, the Education Minister took the position that any teacher in the Teaching Service who fails to mark SBAs will face disciplinary action.

In her arguments before Kokaram at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain, Peake countered claims by the Education Ministry and the Chief Personnel Officer that the proper tribunal to adjudicate the dispute was a special tribunal of the Industrial Court.

Peake said a special tribunal was “highly unsuitable” to determine a question of law on contractual issues, as this issue bore no relevance under the Industrial Relations Act.

“TTUTA’s position is that it is CXC’s function. There is nothing in their job specifications that says it is a teacher’s function. It is an exam body function,” she submitted. “It cannot be implied into a contract.”

While pointing out that TTUTA was not asking the court to treat with the question of remuneration, she said some teachers are paid for marking examination scripts.

She also pointed to a decision by the Jamaican Government to pay its teachers for marking CXC SBA scripts. Peake further argued that it cannot be for the Education Minister to say that it has been the practice for more than two decades locally for teachers to mark SBAs.

She said it was wholly disadvantageous to teachers, as it took away from their teaching time, especially now that most subjects, save Spanish and French, have an SBA component.

Peake said it was also “misconceived” for the State to argue that it was a managerial prerogative.

As part of its arguments before the court, TTUTA wants the court to pronounce on whether the failure or refusal of teachers to mark SBAs for exams set by CXC was a breach of the Code of Conduct of the Education (Teaching Service) Regulations.

TTUTA also wants the court to say whether CXC has any power, authority, or prerogative to determine the duties and obligations of teachers locally, and if it did, the nature and extent of this power.

Senior Counsel Fyard Hosein, who represented the Attorney General, argued the dispute was for the Industrial Court.

He said the Education Act provided for a special tribunal to adjudicate on disputes, the court had to ensure there was parity with other public-sector workers.

“An SBA is a normal part of the function of teachers,” he said.

“You can jump high or jump low, the marking of SBAs has been ongoing for 27 years,” he said, adding that during that period the issue only came up on nine occasions during the collective bargaining process.