Stakeholder exclusion

TTUTA

MODERN AND progressive democracies view public education as a public good with large sums of public money invested in ensuring that quality education is the basis of empowering all people – broadening their choices and enhancing their prospects for a better life. It is therefore farcical to think that the overall management of public education is the sole and exclusive prerogative and domain of government to define its nature, manifestation, and purpose.

It is precisely because education is about empowering people that structured participation of the very people in its dispensation is an absolute necessity. Such involvement manifests itself in the form of consultations and collaborations with the wider national communities commonly referred to as stakeholders.

One such critical stakeholder is the union, an entity duly recognised in law as the body that must be consulted when it comes to issues surrounding terms and conditions of employment, including remuneration.

In the unique profession of education, teachers, located at the critical interface with the client, are in the best position to advise on most matters that affect schools and curriculum delivery. By virtue of their very practice and professional status, they are most times uniquely located to define education reform.

Evidence of this acknowledgement by education researchers is manifested in the concept of “school-based management,” wherein the active input of the teachers and other stakeholders are consciously sought to define the daily operation of the school.

As the representative body of most education sector workers, TTUTA has a proud history of making substantive and profound inputs in our education system since its inception. It has always willingly collaborated and worked with government officials over the years on just about every issue facing education, always opting for meaningful dialogue and collaboration as the best approach.

Through this stakeholder engagement approach many education reform initiatives were ensured success. Noticeably, though, this history also would show where dialogue, consultation and collaboration were bypassed or their importance ignored, the result was failure, chaos and disruption.

Many weak politicians, consumed with power, assume autocratic and dictatorial stewardship of the education portfolio to their political detriment. The past four years have witnessed a significant deterioration in the working relationship between TTUTA and the Ministry of Education.

Several appeals have been made, formally and informally, to alter this dogmatic approach to the management of education, warning of the dire consequences of such behaviour. The decisions made by education authorities as they relate to the impact of the covid19 pandemic have been and continue to be high-handed in nature, with the advice and input of all stakeholders, including TTUTA, totally ignored.

The latest proposal for the resumption of school in September is another example of a dangerous trend. No stakeholder input was sought in the development of the guidelines which were sent out to schools for implementation.

TTUTA has and continues to plead with the ministry to be included in the development of these initiatives without success. Letters written to the permanent secretary requesting meetings are oftentimes not even given the courtesy of an acknowledgement and even when they do, meetings are scheduled with long timeframes owing to the “busy” schedules of officials. And when the meetings do take place, questions are posed but never answered in a timely manner, if at all.

It is nothing short of blatant contempt and disrespect that a document was produced and distributed to schools which speaks to issues that impact on teachers’ terms and conditions of employment without any consultation held with the legally recognised bargaining unit for teachers. Ignoring the concerns of stakeholders, avoiding dialogue and consultation with TTUTA and broken promises have become the norm with the ministry, a track record it should seriously ponder upon if it is to regain the trust and confidence of teachers.

Such condescension, contempt and disrespect have resulted in educators exhibiting extremely low morale and frustration. It all adds up to a significant depreciation of the value and quality of our school system, something which aloof heads will unfortunately not even recognise, given their unsuitability to the task.

It is to the detriment of the country when education is viewed as a commodity to be controlled by a privileged few, with stakeholders assuming nuisance value because it does not fit into their political agenda. It is precisely such thinking that has placed severe limitations on the extent to which our education system has evolved to truly meet the needs of our society. The hierarchy of the ministry has sadly adopted an archaic posture inimical to the tenets of quality education.