TTUTA, CPO meet on outstanding issues

PRESIDENT of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers' Association (TTUTA) Martin Lum Kin says the union was seeing a “flicker of light at the end of a long tunnel” in resolving several issues concerning teachers after a discussion with the Personnel Department.

Executives of the union met with Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Commander Dr Daryl Dindial and representatives of the Ministry of Education on September 26.

According to a CPO release, key topics included updates on the UNIMED Group health plan, training on leave classification for teachers in Tobago, allowance for marking School-Based Assessments, the delay of National Insurance Board retirement benefits to retired teachers and the appointment of teachers with degree qualifications to substantive positions.

Lum Kin, speaking to Newsday on September 28 during a phone interview, said the tripartite meeting was an update on a previous meeting held in May.

He said he especially appreciated that the Personnel Department got involved in the long-outstanding matter of the upgrading of teachers with degrees.

He explained that around 2006 the responsibility for training Teacher 1 Primary and Teacher 3 Secondary teachers was removed from the Teacher’s Training College to UTT when the ministry decided they should get a bachelor’s degree in education instead of a diploma.

After one year at the college they were transferred to UTT and completed their degrees in 2010. However, instead of being upgraded, the ministry refused to recognise the qualification saying the content of some of the courses was deficient for those who graduated between 2010 and 2014.

“TTUTA has been fighting that battle to have the majority of those graduates be upgraded from Assistant Teacher Primary, Teacher 1 Secondary and Teacher 2 Secondary but here have been a lot of stumbling blocks. Even some of our and ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) graduates were being told they did not have the course content to be assessed as a Teacher 1 Primary.

“They did not send themselves to get the qualification. It was the Ministry of Education who was, at that time, responsible for tertiary education which included UTT. So the planning between them was deficient and our members suffered in the long run, up to this day.”

Lum Kin said the ministry provided four options to resolve the issue at the meeting, including doing some courses. He said the union would analyse the options before consulting with its members for them to decide how to go forward.

He added there was a similar situation with the University of the Southern Caribbean and he hoped to resolve both situations soon as those teachers were performing the duties of the higher classifications without being paid for that.

Another issue of concern was that of technical vocational teachers.

He said years ago the ministry recommended several technical vocational teachers be hired even though they did not have a pass in CXC Math because there was a shortage of such teachers.

Since then, many of them have gotten bachelor’s and master’s degrees but the ministry refused to promote them because they did not have Math.

The release said the ministry expressed its continued willingness to address the issues, including Leave Classification for teachers in the Teaching Service in Tobago.

It said, “Dindial acknowledged TTUTA’s executive for their continued leadership, perseverance and unwavering advocacy on behalf of teachers. He noted that the State is aware and grateful of the invaluable contributions of teachers in building a resilient education system and shaping the development of the nation’s youth.”