THA holds 'fruitful' talks with Teaching Service Commission

THE THA Division of Education, Research and Technology has had “fruitful” talks with officials of the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) amidst calls by the TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) to regularise their employment status, citing years of uncertainty and unfulfilled promises.

In a statement on June 5, the division said senior members of its human resource department held a fruitful meeting with representatives from the TSC to engage in meaningful discussions.

Earlier in the week, contract teachers on the island issued a call to the THA Education Division together with the .Ministry of Education in Trinidad to address the longstanding issue.

Speaking with Newsday on June 5, TTUTA Tobago Officer Bradon Roberts expressed little expectation of a useful outcome even after the meeting.

“It's not the first time they have come over for 'fruitful' discussions. When they leave it turns out to not be so fruitful. Hopefully this time shows something more than a photo.”

Roberts said stakeholders in education on the island were faced with a unique and disadvantageous position with the prevalence of contract teachers employed in the secondary schools.

He said the THA was not doing the needful so that cabinet could regularise the establishment of the schools.

He recalled in 1997 -1998 when Scarborough Secondary became a five-year school with Signal Hill Secondary becoming a seven-year school, the adjustment to the establishments were not done in an effort for the staff allocations to take place.

“Since then, we would have had other schools being established – Pentecostal Light and Life, Goodwood Secondary, Mason Hall Secondary, Speyside Secondary – some starting off as five-year schools and eventually became seven-year schools.

"With an absence of the increase at the establishment, short-term measures were put in place whereby contract teachers were employed on a temporary basis and the THA was to work on the cabinet note, so that the cabinet could adjust and authorise the increase to meet the needs.”

He said, unfortunately, despite all the attempts by TTUTA to lobby and work along with the division, there was periodic attention given to the issue. He said audits and other data were done, adding that in 2014 an audit was done where all teachers – contract and in service – were grouped together which showed there were too many teachers in the system.

“With 20 plus teachers on contract, having all the teachers grouped together doesn’t give a true visual of what really exists. So, the audit was a poorly done audit.”

He said with THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine and Education Secretary Zorisha Hackett being former contract teachers, TTUTA expected the matter to be dealt with more expeditiously.

“You’re not hearing from them that seriousness in dealing with this matter. We would have been very hopeful and optimistic that we have these persons at the helm. However, we’re not seeing that political will to really put the pedal to the wheel and get this over the line where our education system, the THA, our teachers could be able to benefit from the much needed regularisation.”

He is calling for the issue to be tackled expeditiously.

“We need the political will to really tackle this thing head-on. Once we are really able to identify our needs, our recommendations are straight forward. We want to ensure our programmes are successful, the education of our Tobago students, the development of our nation having a balance with the quality of persons coming out of Tobago relies on the THA ensuring that we put our system in order.”