FED UP!

Teachers who are members of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) are fed up with the apparent negligence they are receiving from the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, as it seems like their needs and safety are not at the forefront of their minds.

It is against this backdrop that the Union is demanding for a meeting to be held with the Ministry next week Tuesday, so that they are able to adequately air their grievances.

Teachers gathered yesterday evening where they voiced their concerns and fears at a meeting that was held at the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) headquarters.

President of the BSTU, Mary Redman, expressed that they plan to send a letter to the Ministry requesting a meeting, as well as outlining a few recommendations.

“We’ve had other recommendations from teachers such as cameras in the schools, expulsion of trouble children, where the Ministry will decide what to do with the trouble children,” she said.

“Daily searches upon entering the school’s compound and these searches do not involve teachers. In that regard, they may have to very quickly look at the duties of the security guards in the schools or hire additional guards who now have a different type of contract to the ones that are there.”

Many other teachers voiced their concerns and believed there should be a prohibition of sponge and pillows in school bags, and shoe boxes, a call for school psychologists and social workers in schools, as well as information delivered to the teacher when a student is known to have certain problems. Additionally, many called for there to be a look at an effective way of intervention other than suspension as that punishment no longer seems to carry the weight it once did. Furthermore, there should be mandatory reporting of violent incidents in schools to the Ministry of Education.

By Tuesday next week, the Union expects to have this meeting, and if the meeting is not held, the President noted that they plan to have another mass meeting on Wednesday to discuss the relevant action to take.

These recommendations were just a few of the many that they plan to put in the letter and Redman assured that there will be a copy provided to all the schools so that teachers are aware of them. She also noted that they plan to categorise these recommendations into short-term, medium-term and long-term.