Anna-Lisa Paul
The T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) on Tuesday led a delegation of teachers to the Ministry of Education (MoE) seeking clarity on a number of outstanding issues affecting teachers at all levels of the education system.
The contingent of teachers, estimated to be between 50 and 75, was led by TTUTA president Antonia Tekah-De Freitas, who said the lack of action had resulted in some teachers waiting to be confirmed in their posts as far back as 2008.
Addressing reporters on the steps of the ministry in Port-of-Spain just after 9 am, she said some teachers had been waiting for more than ten years in some instances to receive their medical clearance so they could be confirmed permanent in the job.
Other issues include requests for transfers and applications for promotions, which she said had been held up further after the ministry claimed their files could not be located.
In the current scenario, she added, “There are some members who are having health issues and their medicals are not being processed in a timely manner for them to proceed on sick leave, and that is increasing. You must get the permission before you can go on leave.”
Revealing that TTUTA had submitted a list of over 200 names to the ministry in 2020, of educators seeking clarification on outstanding matters, Tekah-De Freitas said that list was later sent back to TTUTA by the ministry seeking further information.
She said all educators had a right to clarification on any issue(s) affecting their performance and security of tenure. The TTUTA head said the lack of bilateral talks between the union and ministry had again reinforced the disrespect that is being meted out to the union.
TTUTA’s executive council meeting will be held today and following that, Tekah-De Freitas said further decisions will be announced.
Pressed to weigh in on the winding up of the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL), she said despite the allegations of corruption and lack of transparency levelled at it, “EFCL had a particular function to maintain schools and that had not happened, and so that must now be a concern for us as to what is going to happen to our infrastructure, especially as we are expected to repopulate fully next term.”
Questioned about students who still remain without online connectivity and/or access to educational material and may be behind their classmates in terms of preparing for the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) and other exams, the she said the education of this cohort had been compromised, as some were not attending classes physically and were missing out online.