Holness cracks the whip
Published:Thursday | February 3, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Demands board act against protesting Balaclava teachers
Keisha Hill, Gleaner Writer
Education Minister Andrew Holness says the recent demonstration by teachers at the Balaclava High School in North East St Elizabeth has brought the profession into disrepute and a letter will be written to the school board instructing them to take appropriate action against the teachers involved.
Holness, in addressing members of the media during an emergency press conference at the ministry's Heroes Circle offices yesterday, declared that if the school board failed to address the matter, his office would be examining what actions could be taken against it.
"Our present powers of action are limited and we act through school boards," Holness said.
"We will be writing to the board of Balaclava giving them general instructions on the appropriate action against those teachers who were involved in the demonstration; those teachers who withheld the keys to the Government's property and prevented school from taking place in the normal course, and failing any action on the part of the board, we will then have to take action against the school board," Holness stated.
The education minister was forced to intervene following an ugly dispute that led to the abandonment of classes at the school on Tuesday.
Zero-tolerance approach
Demonstrators, said to include residents, students and teachers, protested outside the gates of the school for several hours against the appointment of a new principal, Paula Miller-Foster, to replace vice-principal Lenvas Cole, who had been serving a third stint as acting principal.
"Last year, the Ministry of Education gave the teachers adequate warning that we would be taking a zero-tolerance approach to protests and demonstrations on school property," Holness said.
"While it may be the constitutional right of individuals to protest within the confines of the law, the Ministry of Education wants to maintain the reputation and integrity of the teaching profession. It is clear that teachers participating in demonstrations and encouraging students to do so in their presence without intervention bring the profession into disrepute."
According to the protesters, the education ministry bypassed normal procedures to select Miller-Foster as the new school head. They insist Cole, who was acting as principal until Tuesday, should have been appointed to the post.
However, according to Winsome Gordon, head of the Jamaica Teaching Council, the legal and correct process was followed.
"Cole applied for the position, and he was interviewed by the board, which was comprised of staff and community members," Gordon stated. "The secretariat of the Teachers Services Commission (TSC) was then given the recommendations and selected the candidate for the position, after which the minister endorsed the TSC's selection."
In the meantime, president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association, Nadine Molloy Young, says she will be speaking to the minister to clarify what type or level of action is to be taken against the teachers.
Minister of Education Andrew Holness addresses the media, while Dr Winsome Gordon, head of the Jamaica Teaching Council, looks on during an emergency press conference at the ministry's Heroes Circle offices yesterday. Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer