Anna-Lisa Paul
More than 100 Student Aides attached to the Ministry of Education (MoE) can become unemployed after April 30 as their short term contracts are due to end.
They have already been informed that contracts will not be renewed as other people are to be hired.
Saddened over what this sudden move would mean for special needs students due to write the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam on June 10, Isis Murai said this group of children would be at a disadvantage.
Meanwhile, aides assigned to students within the secondary school system are also worried about how their charges will fare.
Leading a small group of Special Education Teachers and On-The-Job Trainees (OJTs) from the ministry on a mid-morning protest outside the offices on St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Murai described the move as unfair and without merit.
Admitting that only a small percentage of the current aides had been contacted and asked to return to work, Murai said the daily-paid group of teachers were informed via text message on April 16 that, “we would be relieved of our duties on April 30 due to the fact that applicants were taken to fill some positions and they would be starting on April 29.”
She said the group of aides cater for special needs students with a variety of disabilities which includes dyslexia, intellectual disorders, visual and hearing impairments, Aspergers Syndrome, ADHD, ADD, and more.
Upset as some of them were denied the opportunity to apply and even be interviewed, Murai added, “Our biggest fear is for our kids who are sitting SEA who have never been with a different aide.Some of these children have been with us for long…to even get these children to open up to you and trust you, it takes a lot of work and time.”
Revealing that she had been forced to learn sign language and develop a creative drawing system in order to interact with one of her special needs students, Murai called on officials to say why so many Ministry of Education and OJT aides were not afforded the opportunity to be interviewed for the positions.
Beginning her third year as an aide in 2021, Murai said there are people who have been working in the post for as much as nine years and “the main issue we all have is fear for our kids and what is going to happen to them.”
She questioned, “Are they going to fall back? Are they going to fall through the cracks? How are the aides who are coming now, without knowing these children…would they be able to reach them and get the best out of them?”
Indicating they had many unanswered questions, Murai’s sister Sakara, who is attached to the Student Support Services Division (SSSD), questioned, “For some reason this term, we really weren’t given a three month contract…why is that?”
She claimed:“They told us to continue working until April 30 and we would be paid for the entire month.”
Adding that they had invested a lot of time and effort into helping these special needs students, Sakara said, “It took me three months to get one of my students to open up to me and this move now will adversely impact how he does in the SEA.”
The two said parents had already reached out to them for guidance as they too are fearful their children will be set back.
Minister: Ministry moving to regularise 68 aides
Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said 78 Student Aides were presently engaged on short term contracts.
Seh said, “The Ministry of Education is in a position to regularise 68 student aides on three-year contracts, 50 of whom are from those presently on short term.”
Gadsby-Dolly assured that “50 of the 78 will transition to longer contracted periods within the next two weeks.”
She said, “Based on students’ needs and performance, additional student aides may be engaged beyond the 68 hired on three-year contracts.”