Absent teachers caught on Facebook

Ali promised firm action on the heels of his strong remarks on March 22, when the TSC appeared before a parliamentary Joint Select Committee (JSC). At that hearing, he linked teacher absenteeism to student violence and indiscipline. The JSC heard that 300 teachers have been identified for disciplinary action.

Ali said some teachers had been found to be out of the country during term time, by way of people seeing their posts on social media such as Facebook. “The commission has not pried to find this out. Teachers made their absence known through Facebook posts. It is a self-declared absence.

Their posts and pictures on social media show where they are.” He said taking time off without seeking and obtaining a principal’s agreement constitutes disregard for lawful authority.

“The Ministry of Education has reported to the Commission the irregularity and unpunctuality of teachers,” Ali said yesterday. “We have the documentation. We will be pressing ahead and taking action.” He said this action would be co-ordinated between the TSC, the Services Commissions Legal Department and the Ministry of Education’s Permanent Secretary.

Ali said that in addition to unpunctuality and absenteeism, the range of disciplinary problems displayed by some teachers was “quite wide” and included physical punishment of pupils and trafficking in narcotics.

Ali said the initial monitoring of teachers’ day-to-day attendance at school and in classes must be done by individual principals and any anomaly must be reported to the ministry’s district office, which sends details to the ministry which in turn sends it to the TSC.

Asked about the prevalence of teachers who sign the staff register on a morning but then do not attend classes, Ali said the dayto- day monitoring of such practice is not the role of the TSC but rather, school principals.

“The Constitution doesn’t give the TSC the authority to go down into any school to see who is there and who is not there, nor to say, ‘Let me see the record.’ The TSC can’t go into a school to look at its operations. The principal should be overseeing the timetable to ensure children are not being left alone.” He said Noriega was swornin to ensure continuity after outgoing member Christopher Steele-Eytle’s term expired last Sunday at midnight. Ali said the TSC’s role is limited to overseeing discipline, appointments, promotions, transfers and secondments.

“It is the ministry’s role to ensure the schools run efficiently on a day to day basis. That is not something for the commission,” he said. A call to TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) president Lynsley Doodhai’s cellphone went unanswered yesterday