– complaints probed included fighting, drunkenness

The Teaching Service Commission (TSC) last year sacked 154 teachers for varying reasons with many dismissed for unauthorised absence from duty or failure to provide the required statutory notice when resigning.

During 2009, the Disciplinary Committee of the TSC deliberated on a large number of complaints sent to the commission by several stakeholders and members of the community throughout the regions of Guyana, the TSC said in a press release. “Some of the complaints received included teachers fighting amongst themselves, being under the influence of alcohol, unpunctuality and habitual lateness, flogging of children without authority, misappropriation of school funds, carnal knowledge, forgery of certificates/qualifications, inadequate work preparation, improper or late completion and distribution of report cards, poor record keeping, leaving students unsupervised during school hours, use of school premises/property without permission, defacement of records, inefficiency and poor supervision,” it said.

The TSC said that it has observed the development of a “disturbing feature” where a number of complaints are sent directly to the commission and this causes undue delay in the body addressing complaints and efficiently discharging its constitutional mandate. According to the statement, it is very important that the regions conduct their investigations and forward their reports to the TSC. It said that complaints must be sent to the TSC through the appropriate channel with accompanying recommendations from ministry officials. The TSC will then conduct its own investigations after receiving reports from the regions.

The statement said that while some complaints were resolved at the school level, the more serious offences were dealt with by the Disciplinary Committee of the commission. “On those occasions when the Disciplinary Committee of the TSC received reports of serious offences, the errant teachers were sent on leave until proper investigations were conducted. In some instances, teachers were interdicted from duty pending the outcome of the investigation and final determination of the matter,” said the TSC. It expressed hope that this year, with the appointment of more Schools’ Welfare Officers and closer supervision by the Regional Education Officers (REdO), there will be a reduction in offences. Meantime, last year, the commission visited a number of regions and held meetings with head teachers and cluster meetings with all levels of teachers.

The commission said this was a productive exercise as teachers were informed of the function and responsibility of the TSC and were updated on any new regulations or procedures. The visits also provided the opportunity to resolve many pending matters for teachers.

The TSC discovered that “rationalization” was a very sore subject in almost every region, the statement said. At the request of the Ministry of Education and on the basis of over-staffing at some schools, the TSC transferred many teachers to schools recommended by the REdOs and some were very dissatisfied with their transfers for a number of reasons, it explained.

Further, the commission said that preparation is now in train for the scoring and processing of applications submitted for Senior Pro-motion for 2010. Thereafter, interviews will be conducted before the final promotion exercise.

The preliminary results for Senior Promotion for 2010 are expected to be released by the first week in June, the statement said.