– but TSC still holding out

By Svetlana Marshall
THE Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) is now calling on the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) to follow in the footsteps of the Education Ministry, following the latter’s decision to resolve the matter regarding promotion of teachers outside of court.

In July, GTU filed an injunction against TSC and the Education Ministry, objecting to the publication of the final list of teachers for senior appointments in 2015, contending that when the applications were originally reviewed, the process was not actually fair.

However, on Tuesday, the Education Ministry took a decision to resolve the matter outside of court. Technical Adviser to the Education Minister, Vincent Alexander told Guyana Chronicle that the Education Ministry through its lawyer withdrew from the court matter, having expressed the willingness to settle the matter outside of court.

In confirming that the matter will be resolved, GTU President Mark Lyte on Friday told the Guyana Chronicle that the Education Ministry has agreed to have the School Board Secretariat review all of the applications for senior promotions that were sent to board schools.

SUBJECTIVE RATHER THAN OBJECTIVE
According to Lyte, when the applications were originally reviewed, they were not reviewed fairly. “We are of the opinion that many of the applications that were submitted were never reviewed, because representatives of the various boards had their own preference. Even during the interviews some representatives did not treat applicants in a fair manner. They were subjective rather than objective,” the GTU President said.

However, he said choosing to resolve the matter outside of court is a step in the right direction. “We were hoping that the Teaching Service Commission could have done likewise.”

While the Education Ministry has control over board schools, with respect to promotion of Head Teachers, Headmasters, Senior Mistresses and Heads of Department, it has no control over other public schools which, in this regard, are controlled by the TSC. The matter involving GTU and TSC is still before the court.
It is the view of the union that the Teaching Service Commission has strayed from its rules and regulations in the way it processed promotions, thereby preventing eligible persons from being promoted.

The GTU President explained that while some teachers would score high during their termly appraisals with respect to their performance, conduct and general attitude, the comments from the Regional Education Officers (REDOs) and other education officers would usually contradict.

“Here again we have too many subjective views being shared by education officers. We have cases where teachers would have received high scores, 90 and over, but because of the negative comments they were not promoted.”

The commission, he said, has been making decisions on the basis of these “comments” penned by the respective REDOs and officials at the Education Ministry on the application forms when teachers apply for promotion.
As a result, he is advocating for teachers to be promoted in keeping with the points system and not the comments penned by the various education officers.

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
He said another issue surrounds the appointment of Heads of Departments, noting that it is mandatory for persons appointed to these positions to have at least a first degree in the subject area.

“We have a number of cases where persons were promoted although they do not have a degree. So they flout the criteria for some persons and enforce it for others. What we need is a level playing field.”

The TSC Secretary on Friday told Guyana Chronicle that given the decision taken by the Education Ministry, a meeting of the full commission will be convened early in December to discuss the way forward. During that meeting, the commission will decide whether it will proceed with the court matter or review the applications as requested by the union.

Approximately 200 senior appointments within the public schools system are to be made while another 60-80 promotions are likely with the board schools.