BSTU denies claims made against teacher; offering assistance to “clarify” matter
By Emmanuel Joseph
The Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) says it will assist one of its members at the centre of allegations that he “misrepresented” his qualifications while the Ministry of Education will probe the matter “as necessary”.
At the centre of the scandal is a teacher who an attorney-at-law representing a group of parents is seeking to have investigated.
Documents purportedly related to the matter began circulating on social media on Thursday and Barbados TODAY confirmed that attorney-at-law Akili Nicholls had written to the principal of the secondary school a week ago, expressing concern on behalf of the parents about the authenticity of the educator’s qualifications. While a copy of the letter had blocked out the identity of the lawyer, when contacted by Barbados TODAY, Nicholls confirmed she was the author of the correspondence.
However, BSTU president Mary Redman has cautioned against making any premature judgments as to the guilt or innocence of the teacher at the centre of the scandal.
“The teacher remains an active member of the union. The union will assist its member in the investigation and clarification of the matter,” she told Barbados TODAY.
She also dismissed claims that the teacher had resigned from a union committee because of the controversy. “In reality, what is being circulated on social media about the BSTU’s relationship with the teacher is entirely false. The union never asked the teacher to submit qualifications or credentials because we never had any reason or occasion to. The teacher did resign the officer position held, but it was for entirely personal reasons, and had absolutely nothing to do with any alleged falsified qualifications or credentials,” Redman disclosed.
In the letter dated May 18, 2023, and copied to the chairman of the school’s board, Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, and Redman, Nicholls said the parents who retained her were concerned about the academic ability of the teacher and the academic integrity of the school. The legal counsel claimed that the teacher had falsely claimed to have obtained a Bsc in Microbiology from a regional university with First Class honours; a degree in Genetics and Pathology from and international university; and CXC Grade 1s in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and French, and Grade 2 in English A.
Referencing enclosed correspondence from both universities, Nicholls said investigations revealed that the transcripts provided by the teacher “do not match the records of the [universities]”.
Additionally, the lawyer said, there were questions surrounding his alleged attendance at a college in Jamaica, and the teacher had changed his name in 2006 “which causes further confusion regarding the authenticity of these credentials”. The legal representative also said she was instructed that the man’s competence as a teacher had been called into question by both staff and students, resulting in him being reassigned from upper school to junior school.
“In light of these allegations and concerns, my clients request that [the teacher] be required to provide proof of academic qualifications and confirm their authenticity,” Nicholls wrote, saying the request was made in the interest of upholding the academic standards and integrity of the school.
The attorney also reminded the principal that misrepresentation of academic qualifications can have serious legal consequences in Barbados and can undermine the trust and confidence that students and parents have in the education system. “I urge you to take this matter seriously and to take appropriate action to address it. I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your prompt response,” Nicholls concluded. Neither Archer-Bradshaw nor the school principal could be reached for comment. However, Deputy Chief Education Officer Joy Adamson told Barbados TODAY that “once the ministry gets information, the ministry will do the investigations as necessary”.
“Once the chief has sight of the letter, we will do our due diligence as necessary,” she said.
Barbados TODAY also reached out to the Examinations Section at the regional university where the teacher said he had acquired a degree to independently find out the authenticity of the qualification.
However, the registrar’s office stated: “In accordance with our code of conduct, we are not allowed to divulge details about a former or current student without a letter of consent from that individual that is duly signed.
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