History teacher needed urgently

THE EDITOR: How serious is the Ministry of Education in ensuring that our children are adequately prepared for all CSEC exams? In at least one instance, the ministry is guilty of a dereliction of duty.

The Waterloo Secondary School lost one of its Form 5 history teachers in November 2020 and there has been no replacement. Even though the teacher gave notice that she intended to leave since March last year.

Mrs Ali, the principal, said several letters were written to the ministry advising of the situation and seeking a replacement, but she has received no response. Mr Ramrattan, the School Supervisor III for the area, said he has done his part and now everything is “in the hands of the human resources department” of the ministry.

With the CSEC history examination scheduled for June, the students have had little direct teaching since the beginning of the year. The School-Based Assessments (SBAs) submitted by these students will in a large part decide whether they pass or fail the history examination. But who is going to provide guidance on the SBAs to these students in a timely manner to ensure that it is of the required standard?

So why has the school and district education authorities not done more to ensure that at least a substitute teacher is put in place? Just writing letters alone has not resulted in a remedy – but Ali and Ramrattan believe they have already done their part.

Why has the ministry’s human resources department not been able to appoint someone to the vacant position since November? Does anyone in authority care sufficiently to address the problem in a timely manner, to ensure that our children have a fair and equal opportunity to pass the history exam?

This situation is sheer negligence and incompetence of all those concerned. If one of their children were in that class, the teacher would have been replaced the next day.

I call on Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly to resolve this matter and immediately send in a competent teacher to give these now disadvantaged students a fighting chance.

FLOYD HOMER

Couva