TTUTA: Clarify principal’s status
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Education claimed in a press release, that the Teaching Service Commission did not suspend Paul but asked him not to report for work pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of misconduct .
Suspension is a disciplinary action, the release explained, which can only be taken if Paul is found guilty .
TT Unified Teachers Association President Lynsley Doodhai yesterday said the source of the confusion could be found in a letter which informed Paul of a request to not report to work last Friday but which was captioned, ‘Allegations of Misconduct/ Suspension from Duty.’ This led both Paul and TTUTA to believe he was suspended .
The letter states in the third paragraph: “The Commission has directed that you cease to report for duty, in accordance with the provision of Regulation 88 of the Public Service Commission Regulations.” Regulation 88, according to a source, is itself titled, ‘Suspension by Commission’ and states, “When the Commission becomes aware of any indiscipline or misconduct and the Commission is of the opinion that the public interest or the repute of the public service requires it, the Commission may direct the officer in writing to cease to report for duty until further notice from the Commission, and an officer so directed shall cease to perform the functions of his office forthwith.” “This means that the Teaching Service Commission was already of the opinion that Mr Paul was wrong,” said Doodhai .
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"TTUTA: Clarify principal’s status"