BSTU calls for dialogue

THE contents of a letter e-mailed by the Acting Chief Education Officer (CEO) to principals and teachers in the public system, is not sitting well with either of the teachers’ unions in this country.

In fact, both are making their displeasure known, with the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) going as far as to send correspondence to the Ministry of Education official, requesting an urgent meeting.

In that letter, President of the BSTU, Mary-Anne Redman, said that the union “stands ready” to have a meeting to discuss the contents of the CEO’s letter and “is expecting such a meeting by the end of this week”. But up to press time yesterday, Redman told The Barbados Advocate, they had received no word from the Ministry on their request.

The BSTU, in its correspondence to the CEO, said that while they saw a meeting on April 17, 2020, “as a signal by the Ministry of the return to a level of inclusion and involvement of the union in educational matters”, it was with “a deep sense of disappointment, even betrayal” that they read the contents of said letter sent to principals and teachers earlier this week, describing some of the expectations contained therein as unreasonable.

“Indeed, many of our members found the “Teachers’ Expectations” to be insulting in tone, timing and substance, and reflective of a lack of sensitivity and sympathy in these times. To wit – the directive that teachers should have laptops bears no relation to the fact that many of them still do not and have yet to be provided with any. We discussed and you agreed, as did BAPPSS, that teaching would consist of both synchronous and asynchronous classes, and that neither type, for a variety of pertinent and sensitive reasons, should be mandated. Yet there is the stated directive that there must be at least three hours of synchronous teaching daily!” she said.

The BSTU president said this expectation is more worrisome, given that extended screen time is known to affect the health and well-being of both students and teachers.

“There is the expectation that, having to prepare for three hours of synchronous teaching every day and the extensive time frames required for this, teachers are still to make themselves available for any students who may be in need of extra assistance and be available as well for parents who are to contact them between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. One is left to ponder as to what time teachers are left to prepare their daily classes, assist their own school-age children with their work, care for elderly parents and shop or do other business on their stipulated days and times?” she added in the three-page letter.

In that vein, the union boss suggested that the CEO’s demands go beyond the requirements of a normal workday for teachers. She made the point while also questioning the need for continuous assessment towards generating an End of Term Report, as there will be no promotion examinations.

Meanwhile, the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), in a press release, said that the correspondence from the Ministry official, on Sunday night, providing less than 24 hours’ notice of the stated expectations, “was not abundantly tactful”, given the current environment.

“Despite the assurance that information would be shared during the online meeting of stakeholders on April 17, 2020, the BUT has received neither formal nor informal notice of the particulars of any directives issued by the Ministry of Education, Technological & Vocational Training (METVT). In that regard, there has been a breach of any and all goodwill extended on that occasion,” the statement read.

It continued, “Therefore, the Minister’s stated intention ‘to continue to encourage engagement with you, your union representatives and officials in the Ministry of Education before returning to in-class teaching’ rings impressively – but hollow – and offers little comfort, over two weeks later.”