Teachers in the public service in Barbados still do not know when the next school term will begin.
But while informed sources told Barbados TODAY this afternoon that a meeting was held with the principals, two main teachers unions have confirmed that similar discussions have not taken place with them.
In a national address last Saturday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said Minister of Education and Technological and Vocational Training Santia Bradshaw was set to meet with principals and teachers to decide on how to proceed.
President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers Union (BSTU) Mary Redman said she was still awaiting word from the Ministry on when school will resume after the outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent restrictions on mass gatherings forced a temporary suspension of classes scheduled more than a week before the official end of last term. The new term was expected to start on Tuesday, April 14.
“I am here waiting for a call from the Ministry of Education…as the Prime Minister had indicated on the 11th [April] and as partners in a tripartite relationship in this country, I would have thought the unions would have been involved right off at the beginning of any plans moving forward in relation to how we address the educational needs of students and the professional responsibilities of teachers,” Redman said.
“I am still here waiting to hear from the Ministry of Education…because as it stands, a lot of the principals are now imposing responsibilities on teachers who don’t have the wherewithal, the resources. And different principals are requiring different things,” Redman told Barbados TODAY.
In fact, the union leader said she was being bombarded with telephone calls and WhatsApp messages from “very” frustrated and overwhelmed teachers, some of whom have children and elderly parents to care for and manage in these challenging times.
Redman’s counterpart in the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Sean Spencer also confirmed that his organisation was yet to be officially informed about the re-opening of schools.
“The BUT is yet to participate in any meeting on the subject. Unlike the principals, the Barbados Union of Teachers has had no meeting with the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training on the subject of the re-opening of school,” Spencer said.
When contacted, president of the Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools (BAPPSS) Juanita Wade said no official date has yet been determined for the start of the new term.
“I believe the ministry is still deliberating concerning the formal beginning of school. However, in the interim, teachers will be interacting with their students as they prepare,” Wade explained.
The BAPPSS president was also asked to respond to the charge that principals were imposing responsibilities on teachers who do not have the resources and who are frustrated and overwhelmed.
“I don’t think principals are expecting the impossible [from teachers]. They are obviously aware that teachers would have varying needs, varying situations, and we are asking them to do the best that they can in these very trying circumstances,” the head of the principals’ organisation contended.
Calls to the Ministry of Education went unanswered.
When Prime Minister Mottley addressed the country on the temporary disruption of classes she suggested that the way forward would entail “a long-term plan” with respect to e-learning and distance learning.
The Prime Minister also assured parents with children set to take the 11-plus this year that consultations would also be held with principals, teachers and unions to set a new date.
Discussions are also to be held with the Caribbean Examinations Council on the timetable for its regional examinations.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
