By Jeff Trotman
The Region Ten Democratic Council has called on the Region’s Education Department to state the number of teachers whose salaries have been withheld because they returned to school late in the new term.
The council also wants an explanation on the apparent misinformation to the Region’s Education Committee by an officer of the Education Department, who claimed to have personally driven her car to distribute to head teachers in Linden a circular of amnesty for teachers from the Chief Education Officer (CEO), Olato Sam.
The matter was raised at the RDC’s October Statu-tory Meeting by AFC Councillor, Audwin Rutherford, who said that he had asked several teachers in the Region about the circular but no one seemed to have seen, or knew anything about the circular that had information on an amnesty for teachers, who returned late for the beginning of the school term from their overseas trips.
The AFC Councillor, who is a member of the Region’s Education Com-mittee said he was “wondering if the officer had lied to the committee?” He further stated that his wife was told to change the date on her ticket and she had done so.
Regional Chairman, Sharma Solomon, who is chairman of the education committee, in support of Rutherford’s concern, said that teachers had been advised to take in their ticket or flight itinerary to the Education Department and once it was observed that the date of their return was between the new opening date for the school year and the old one, they would be allowed to receive their pay because schools were reopened earlier than was previously scheduled. He also seemed puzzled that some teachers, who complained to him about their salaries being withheld, had not received information about the amnesty from their head teachers.
Indictment
The standing orders for the meeting were suspended for the Regional Education Officer (R.Ed. O), Marcia Paddy-Andrews to give some clarity on the matter. She said the Department received two correspondences – one dealt with preparation for the opening of school and the other clearly stated that teachers, who had applied for leave to go abroad should return to the country by 25th September.
Solomon then asked where the officer got the information about the amnesty from. Paddy-Andrews said that the CEO had stated that if the teachers could prove that they bought their tickets before the letter was circulated then he would make a compromise.
Stressing that school was opened earlier than originally scheduled, Solomon said the information being given by the Regional Education Officer was “a personal indictment” on the officer, who claimed to have personally driven her car and hand delivered the circular about the amnesty to head teachers when, in fact, the CEO had given the information by word of mouth.
Solomon reiterated that the officer had told the education committee that all the teachers had to do was to submit their flight itinerary – and they would not be penalized for returning the week after the new school year began.
“I don’t think that would be so,” the Regional Education Officer chipped in, “because all teachers are required to do pre term activity. So, they would have been exempted from the week of the 25th , not when school opened.”
Date change
Paddy-Andrews added that Rutherford’s wife was advised to have a change of date so she could apply for special leave to cover the period up to the new date. The Regional Education Officer explained that if a ticket was bought prior to the change of date, the teacher would have to apply for special leave for the additional period. She said that up to the time of the RDC Statutory Meeting (Thursday 2 October) she had not seen any such application, except for one in which the applicant had returned to the country on 29th September and the CEO had advanced her leave up from the 25th but with the proviso that she had to apply for special leave.
Legality
The Regional Chairman then asked if it is within the law to withhold the teachers’ salaries. The Regional Education Officer explained that withholding salary is not stopping the payment; it is just a precaution against overpayment to teachers, who might not return to the country.
Solomon asked how many teachers’ salaries had been withheld. The Regional Education Officer said: “Quite a number.” Solomon said: “The figure is so troubling that we have a lot of angry teachers”. He added that one teacher’s salary has been held up for three months.
The Regional Education Officer said the teacher should be dismissed since she “did not work on the last day of school and, therefore, her absence is continuous”. She further said if the teacher had not returned to school at the beginning of the September term, then she is deemed absent for July and August.
At that point a motion was raised for the Region’s Education Officer to give the RDC a clear, written response and explanation about the officer’s claim in relation to the circular, the number of teachers, whose salaries have been withheld and what form, if any, would an amnesty take.
