More students than teachers stay home

AT LEAST 72 percent of the nation’s teachers heeded their union’s call to enjoy a day of “rest and reflection” and stayed away from schools. However it ap-peared that even more students stayed at home. Checks at several schools showed a mixed response to the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association’s (TTUTA) call. TTUTA President Trevor Oliver said data received by the union showed that 72 percent of  teachers stayed at home.

The highest response was in Port-of-Spain with 80 percent of teachers staying away from classes. In St George East 66 percent of teachers “rested and reflected,” while there was a 75 percent response in Caroni and South Eastern, 48 percent in Victoria, 52 percent in Tobago and 70 percent in North Eastern and St Patrick. The Ministry of Education said its statistics showed about 60 percent of the teaching population stayed away from classes, while close to 80 percent of students were absent from classes. The Ministry’s Communications Officer Hilton Braveboy said in one instance 150 of a school’s population of 1,350 turned out for classes. He said at another school, 84 out of the 617 students were present with 14 teachers present and ten absent.

Braveboy said parents kept their children away from school and as a result of  the low turnout at primary and secondary schools, there was a significant impact on the School’s Food Nutrition Programme. He said meals for breakfast and lunch, had to be redirected to different areas and in some instances a “quick call” had to be made to ask that the regular number of meals not be prepared. Because of the low student turnout, the Ministry did not have to put a contingency plan in place. As a matter of fact, some teachers who turned out for work were forced to leave because there were no students.

Oliver said the union saluted the masses of teachers who heeded its call. He vowed to continue the struggle until they get their “just wages.” TTUTA’s General Council was due to meet in emergency session late yesterday to determine the success of the day of “rest and reflection” and decide on a future action in response to the slow pace of negotiations with the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) for a new collective agreement for 2002-2005. The union will meet with the CPO tomorrow and is hoping a new proposal will be put on the table. CPO Narieman Hosein-Ahmad postponed last week’s meeting with TTUTA to consult with her superiors on other possible offers that could be made to the Association.