Published 31 August 2017
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Education Minister: Principal, Teacher Transfers Customary Without Consultation
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN); Minister of Education, Deputy Prime Minister Shawn Richards, in an interview with WINN FM addressed the concern raised in some circles that principals and teachers have been transferred without being consulted on the change.
“If you were to consult with all of the teachers when determining where they want to teach you may very well end up in a situation where some schools will be without teachers, because for one reason of a next the teachers may not want to go there.”
According to unconfirmed reports three primary school principals have been transferred to administrative positions within the Ministry, three others transferred to other schools, two deputy principals have been promoted to principals and one new principal has been appointed. At the high school level, one deputy principal will now head the school.
The Education Minister says the transferring of principals and teachers transfers is customary and inevitable as the Ministry has to deploy its resources to ensure adequate staffing at the island’s learning institutions.
“The Ministry of Education will use the resources available to it to ensure that all of the schools are properly and adequately staffed throughout the school year and in particular at the start of any academic year. You will have teachers going off to pursue studies, persons returning from studies to the teaching profession, teachers who will retire, who will resign and you will have teachers who would perhaps be transferred to other departments within government.
“Taking all of those changes into consideration, it therefore means you’re going to have to deploy staff from one institution to a next to ensure that schools are properly staffed.”
Richards said concern would be justifiable if the transfers were done arbitrarily, however, that is not the case. He said as with other civil service occupations such as policing, it is understood that persons can be moved from one institution to a next as may be required.
“If the transfers were being done out of spite or victimization I do believe that one would have a legitimate case; however, when one applies to teach there is no guarantee that for the entire teaching career that individual will be placed at the same school.
“The fact is that unfortunately in many cases you have teachers who get accustomed to being at one school for a number of years, or a teacher is placed at a school in a particular community and maybe he or she lives in that community and so he or she becomes comfortable at that particular institution.
“When you are hired as a teacher, there is the understanding that you can be placed at any one of the educational institutions. Yes, in most instances perhaps there will be no consultation with teachers, but the Ministry has before it the necessary qualifications of the teachers and those factors will be taken into consideration in determining where staff is to be deployed.”
Educators being transferred are not always given as much notice as they would like, however the Deputy Prime Minister says sometimes the Ministry is informed of resignations, study leave and other factors that would require a transfer of personnel in less than adequate time.
He pointed out that there is a policy in place for educators who wish to challenge transfers, and if the aggrieved person does not get the redress he or she requires, that person can take the matter before the court.
“Of course the administrative staff within the ministry these are persons who are willing to sit down and have any discussion with any person who so desires, and if at the end of the day the party feels aggrieved I suppose you can take it to the Human Resources Department or you can seek legal action.”
During the interview Richards acknowledged the important role educators play in shaping the nation’s youth, highlighting their contribution to the success of students writing CXC exams.
