Teachers at Queen’s College staged a sit-in yesterday, vowing to continue until their concerns about the appointment of retired Deputy Principal, Gem Rohlehr to the post of temporary Deputy Principal are addressed.
On October 31, Rohlehr retired and on Thursday a valedictory function was held for her. It was then that her appointment as temporary Deputy Principal was announced. Speaking with reporters, two staff members said that the manner in which Rohlehr was appointed is not in keeping with the established procedures and there was no consultation with staff about the appointment. Further, they said, there has never been a position of “temporary Deputy Principal”. It was stated that Chairman of the Board of Directors, Laurie Lewis announced that she would be the temporary Deputy Principal until December 31. According to information, her teaching appointment could then be confirmed.
“We feel… we have been cheated,” said a senior teacher, who asked not to be named. She said that the school’s administration has no regard for the teachers. All the teaching staff – over 40 in number – participated in the sit-in, she said, and over 700 students are affected. No teaching was done yesterday and teachers later met the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) representatives. She vowed that the protest will continue until somebody “tells us something”.
Meanwhile, Lyndon Hector, the staff representative on the QC Board of Governors, said that the staff wanted Rohlehr’s appointment rescinded as they felt it was not a fair decision and the next person in line has been sidelined. He said they wanted Rohlehr to go on due retirement and “not cause problems…”
The way in which the announcement was made was also a cause for concern, as according to the teachers, they were told that if they wanted to challenge the decision, they could do so. They said that there would not have been a problem if the matter had been discussed with staff beforehand.
Hector pointed out that according to the Ministry of Education’s guidelines for re-hiring retired Heads and Deputy Heads of schools, they cannot return to the same school in the position they held.
This newspaper was told that a former staff could he re-hired at the same school based on the need. He said that the staff had had problems with Rohlehr and they feel the ministry has erred in appointing her.
The teachers have vowed to continue the sit-in if the appointment is not rescinded. They said that should Rohlehr be re-hired she should be retained only to teach her subject and not in an administrative position at the school.
According to the staff, the school is not one where their concerns are heard and addressed and when issues are raised, they are reminded about “culture and tradition”.
Meantime, the staff yesterday discussed their concerns with the GTU representative and also the head teacher of the institution.
Among the additional concerns raised was the non-appointment of some members of staff, the “disrespect” of staff by the school’s board as well as the fact that there had been no Parent Teachers Association meeting for a while.
