Maha Sabha: Abolish Teaching Service Commission

Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Vijay Maharaj has boldly accused the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) of “inflicting great harm” on the education system.

He says the commission should be abolished and its functions placed under the jurisdiction of the Education Minister and her supervising officers.

“The TSC has vetoed denominational boards' carefully-considered, recommended choices because of its limited knowledge and experience.

"The inescapable conclusion is that the anachronistic, ineffective and inefficient TSC is a huge stifling impediment to the growth, progress and success of the education system and needs to be abolished and new full-time commissioners appointed,” Maharaj said in a letter to the editor on March 18.

His sentiments come days after the Presbyterian Primary Schools Board of Education (PPSBE) made it clear it will strongly resist any attempt to erode its rights under the Concordat.

In its statement on March 14, the board said it will not passively accept policies or administrative decisions that threaten its ability to maintain the quality of Presbyterian education.

“We will strongly resist any attempt to frustrate us into giving up any of its rights secured by the Concordat by the device of mass-recruitment exercises which delay recruitment of teachers.”

The denominational bodies were responding to a recent High Court ruling by Justice Westmin James on a dispute over changes in the recruitment process for teachers in denominational primary schools.

The challenge was brought by the PPSBE and the Presbyterian Church.

Also after the ruling, chief executive officer of the Catholic Education Board of Management (CEBM) Sharon Mangroo, in a statement, said her organisation, which was an interested party in the case, was disappointed with the outcome.

Mungroo, who also serves as head of the Association of Denominational Boards of Education (ADBE), stated that the last advertisement for applications for teaching positions in denominational schools was issued in January 2023.

Mangroo expressed hope that a solution could be found through dialogue.

“The CEBM looks forward to any good faith negotiations that enable the provision of Catholic education to the students in our schools,” she said.

THE CONCORDAT

The 1960 Concordat is a written agreement between the State and a collective of school boards representing schools founded by Presbyterian, Muslim, Hindu, Anglican and Catholic churches in Trinidad and Tobago which gives these boards the ultimate say in the day-to-day running of schools under their remit.

This also includes accepting teachers based on an assessment of the moral and religious alignment of the schools aligned to these various denominational boards.