Presbyterian Board goes to court over new hiring policy for primary teachers

THE PRESBYTERIAN Board has made good on its threat to go to court over recent changes to the recruitment process for denominational primary school teachers.
On Tuesday, attorneys for the board notified Teaching Service Commission (TSC) chairman Elizabeth Crouch that it had filed for leave for judicial review.
The board’s application has been assigned to Justice Westmin James and a date is yet to be set for hearing.
The denominational board is challenging the refusal of the TSC to approve its recommendations for filling vacancies for the position of Teacher 1 (Primary) and make the necessary appointments, as well as the commission's decision to advertise vacancies for those positions in schools controlled and managed by the Presbyterian Primary Schools’ Board of Education.
The board is represented by attorneys Darrell Allahar, Aaron Mahabir and Matthew Allahar.
In petitioning the court, the attorneys say the matter should be deemed urgent, since it involves filling vacancies at denominational schools in line with the 1960 Concordat.
They also said an urgent determination was needed to avoid a deadlock between the board and the TSC which could result in no teachers being appointed to its primary schools in time for the new school term in September.
The board’s contends that the TSC’s changes exclude input from the denominational boards, as mandated by the Concordat – a pre-Independence agreement between the government and heads of the various religious denominations.
The new recruitment process would require all Teacher I (Primary) vacancies across all schools to be advertised. The board argues that the new process is unlawful.
It said it would cause "the erosion of assurances given by the Concordat” and that halting the established process and starting a completely new one was not only unlawful but arbitrary.
In an affidavit in support of the application, Terrence Warde, general secretary of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church, said he was aware of the TSC’s advertisement in January but no appointments had been made to the position in any of the board’s schools.
“Meanwhile, the enrolment process for students has started in Presbyterian primary schools. There are currently 30 vacancies for Teacher 1 (Primary) at 21 Presbyterian primary schools.”
He said the service commission department in June said there were 153 vacancies for Teacher 1 (Primary) in government-assisted primary schools, which, he said, meant that vacancies in Presbyterian schools accounted for almost 20 per cent of the total across denominational primary schools.
“The new school term starts in September 2023 and the issues between the church and the TSC must be resolved before then to avoid adverse effects on those Presbyterian primary schools which have vacancies for teachers.
“Because there is a maximum number of students that can be allocated to a teacher, vacancies impact the ability of a school to have classes and to service as many students as possible according to its capacity,” he said.
The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) has also challenged the TSC’s decisions but has not yet filed any similar claims.
There have been discussions between the board and the TSC, but the parties have not been able to arrive at a consensus.
The Education Ministry, while not a party to the Presbyterian Board’s application, has been given notice of the court action.
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"Presbyterian Board goes to court over new hiring policy for primary teachers"