PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday swore in the members of the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) at the Office of the President after he and Leader of the Opposition Robert Corbin came to an agreement on the submission of a nominee to the body which oversees the promotion of teachers, disciplinary action and the filling of vacancies.
In the Credentials Room of the Office of the President, and with an audience of Ministers of Government and other officials, President Jagdeo swore in Leila Ramson (Chairperson), PNCR nominee Allan Munroe, Anoopwattie Veeren, Roopnarine Persaud Tiwari, Maydha Persaud and Conrad Kendall.
There will be two ex-officio members of the TSC. These are the Chief Education Officer and an officer from the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU).
After the signing, President Jagdeo noted that people were anxiously awaiting the TSC to commence its work.
Asked on how widespread is the shortage of teachers in Guyana, Chairperson of the TSC, Leila Ramson, said that at this point in time only the Ministry of Education could address that question.
“We do appointments, disciplinary matters and we handle promotions. In terms of vacancies in the schools, we have to be advised by the Ministry of Education. So [it is] not until we go back into the Commission that we would know where there are vacancies, providing of course the Ministry sends us that list, and then we would be able to appoint junior teachers because we had just promoted senior teachers before we left the Commission,” Ramson said.
She said in terms of where there are vacancies for headmistresses, the Regions transfer head teachers to make sure that they can fill these vacancies. She said that in the case of acting headmistresses, they must wait until there are promotions advertised and apply for the vacant positions; and providing that they have the number of points for the position that is how those positions are filled.