As the bell rings to signal the end of another academic term, teachers at the Bishop Anstey East, Trinity College East and BATCE sixth form are still unsure if they will have a job come next term.
This is because they’ve received no confirmation on whether or not the schools’ transition to a government-assisted model has been finalised.
Teachers, who spoke with Guardian Media yesterday, now want to meet face-to-face with Ministry of Education officials.
In May, the MoE advised the schools that the “complex negotiations” were at an advanced stage with final recommendations to be presented to the Cabinet in 30 to 60 days.
That time has now passed and teachers say there’s been no word on the next steps.
After a 20-year contract between the Bishop Anstey Association (BAA) and the State ended in 2021, Government now has complete ownership of the schools’ buildings and land in Trincity.
Teachers said it’s been years of trying to get answers from BAA, and now they simply no longer trust them.
The association comprises Bishop of the Anglican Diocese Rt Rev’d Bishop Claude Berkley, Dr Murchison Brown, Alison Baisden, Debbie Melville, Alana Taitt-Clarke and Althea Harvey-Martin.
As such, BATCE teachers are now requesting a meeting with the ministry to discuss the way forward.
While some teachers were hesitant to bypass BAA to get to the ministry, others believed they had no choice.
One teacher said, “We’re at the end of the term now and teachers are in a precarious position because we don’t know what could happen over the summer and if we are coming out to resume duties as normal in September or if all of a sudden we’re told, ‘No, this group of teachers would continue, but this group won’t.’ We simply don’t know.”
“We are neither for the Government’s takeover nor against the Government’s takeover. We don’t have a problem with the takeover once our jobs are secure.”
Another teacher said, “We do not trust the board because they’ve not given us any feedback on anything. Perhaps, the teachers need to hear from the ministry directly.... It’s July/August vacation but we cannot enjoy any time off when there’s so much uncertainty.”
BAA chairman Bishop Berkley said yesterday he is aware of the teachers’ concerns and would like to provide them with answers but the association is waiting on a meeting with MoE.
He said a meeting was scheduled for June 25, however, had to be postponed.
He is now waiting for the ministry to tell him when they can meet next.
Guardian Media reached out to Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly for comment, but up to press time, received no response.