‘No response yet’

Over a month after the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) sent correspondence to the Ministry of Education regarding the Solicitor General’s position on the School Based Assessments (SBAs), the Union is still waiting to hear back from the Ministry’s top officials.

 

That’s according to BSTU President Mary Ann Redman, who explained to The Barbados Advocate yesterday morning that their letter requested that they be provided with the relevant aspects of the law and supporting evidence used by the Solicitor General, in coming to the conclusion that the SBAs form part of teachers’ duties.

 

The Barbados Advocate understands that the letter also asked that the Union be furnished with copies of all correspondence between the Ministry of Education and the Solicitor General’s Office, including the specific questions which were sent to the Solicitor General and the specific responses made, as well as the accompanying references. That letter was sent off on April 19, the same day the Ministry reportedly emailed the Union with the Solicitor General’s position on the matter.

 

Redman remains adamant that in the “absence of any reasoned and or reasonable response” members of the Union stand by their position that the SBAs are the work and property of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) and they will not correct those documents without compensation. With that in mind, she said that the SBAs among other issues were expected to be on the agenda of the BSTU’s Quarterly Meeting which was scheduled to take place yesterday evening. Redman said that during that meeting they were also expected to determine their next move should the Ministry not respond to their correspondence.

 

At the last meeting of the BSTU’s general membership in April, Redman hinted at possible legal action, explaining that if need be, the law courts can decide once and for all how to treat the SBAs, which she noted are required for various levels of certification awarded by the CXC including the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate, the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence, the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), and the Caribbean Vocational Qualifications. She also indicated that especially at the level of CAPE, the SBA is now worth more and more of the final exam – 60 and 70 per cent in some instances, which was putting additional work on teachers.

 

Maintaining that the SBAs are the property of CXC, and the Ministry of Education, not the examination body is the teachers’ employer, she remains adamant that marking those documents cannot be part of their regular duties. (JRT)