Tension among teachers

Tension is bubbling in the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) over an attempt by outgoing President Jasford Gabriel to suspend the constitutional provisions for the selection of a new secretary general and southeastern regional officer.

At a special general council meeting on Wednesday evening, members voted to block the president’s proposal for an external panel to interview the candidates for the posts.

The general council is the JTA’s highest decision-making body outside of its annual conference.

The association is now seeking replacements for Secretary General Byron Farquharson and South Eastern Regional Officer Basil Benjie, both of whom are retiring.

Under the JTA’s constitution, an internal panel, including the JTA trustees, the immediate past president, the president, and the president-elect are to conduct the interviews for the posts of secretary general and senior administrative officers.

A deputy secretary general may also sit on the panel.

Sources close to the association say six candidates were interviewed for the post of eastern regional officer, with the secretary general reporting at a June 26 general council meeting that a recommendation for an appointment had been arrived at.

The recommended appointee was not named.

However, days later, one of the candidates wrote to the secretary general seeking his assurance that the selection process was fair, since the panel included a deputy secretary general with whom she had a testy encounter in the past year.

After the encounter, one of the deputy’s portfolios was reassigned, which meant the applicant no longer needed to consult him.

Meanwhile, JTA sources said the secretary general has written back to the applicant telling her that the selection process was fair.

However, the president now wants the result aborted and the interview carried out by an external panel.

Gabriel has also proposed that the same panel be used for the secretary general.

But the teachers are vehemently opposed, insisting that the JTA’s constitution clearly sets out the process for the selection of a secretary general and senior administrative officers.

The Gleaner has obtained copies of WhatsApp messages from JTA members decrying the move by the president.

“That misguided attempt to outsource the interview process for two very important positions at this level is wrong on so many levels,” the member wrote.

The member continued: “If it is that we cannot find a panel with integrity in the JTA, we need to question our very existence as a professional body, and those without integrity should consider resigning.”

However, Gabriel said the recommendation was a collective one made by him as sitting president, President-elect Winston Smith, and immediate past President Owen Speid.

Gabriel told The Gleaner the JTA has been experiencing challenges in conducting interviews for the posts and that the short time to effect the completion.

The secretary general, on behalf of the three presidents, recommended to a special general council on Wednesday that an independent, external body be engaged to execute the process.

“After deliberations and discussions, the council voted to retain our traditional mode of conducting the elections. The votes were 35 for the traditional mode, 21 voted for an external entity, and 25 persons abstained from the voting process,” Gabriel said.

When contacted, Farquharson said he was not prepared to provide any information related to the matter.

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