Minister of Education, Santia Bradshaw.
The Democratic Labour Party is calling for the Minister of Education, Santia Bradshaw, to either step up to the task of running the Ministry of Education more efficiently or step down from the job.
In a recent press statement, they expressed dissatisfaction with the “ad-hoc manner” in which the Ministry of Education is being managed.
This call came on the heels of a circular that was sent to the unions from the Ministry of Education on Wednesday, requesting a meeting this week with all the teachers.
“The letter to unions caused concern for teachers who are now wondering if the new date suggested for the Common Entrance Examination now means that they will be in school three weeks more to the end of July, as opposed to early in the first week of July as is the custom. They are also concerned that after scant respect was shown in consideration of a mid-term break, time will now be added on to Term 3 as well; and parents have no idea how to plan ahead,” the statement read.
The statement also noted that the party strongly calls for the there to be a slight return to the traditional delivery of education, however, there are a few things coming out of the correspondence that are of concern to them.
Chief among these concerns are: when the school year for 2021 to 2022 will begin; why nothing was done about the Common Entrance Examination even though COVID-19 provided the perfect time to focus on this topic; and what of the monitors that were sent into schools in September, and whether it is true that they were engaged on contract for one year and paid every two weeks since December, even though schools were not in session.
The DLP believes that education is far too vital to be treated with such “scant respect”.
“COVID-19 provided a perfect opportunity to effect a total reform in this sector, but to date all we continue to hear is of a committee set in place and led by a former Deputy Chief. Yet there has been not one meaningful engagement to discuss reform,” the statement said.
“Our children are our future and they deserve better. The effects of our inability to take action during this pandemic will be far-reaching. It is high time Minister Bradshaw step up to the task or step down!”