Teachers stayed away from work en masse at the Good Shepherd Primary School, forcing the school to close early on Monday, as a staff crisis deepened.
Officials told Barbados TODAY that the action by the teachers was directly connected to Friday’s disruption of classes that also prompted the school’s early closure of the Prospect Road, Fitts Village, St James school as police officers were called in.
In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Education said it was forced to close the school as 18 teachers called in sick.
“Due to the inadequate number of teachers present to effectively manage the student body and class loads today, Good Shepherd Primary School had to be closed,” the ministry said.
Following a site visit, Barbados Union of Teachers vice president Julian Pierre, who is also the chairman of the union’s health and safety committee, said a meeting was held with the educators on Sunday evening in which many teachers expressed discomfort about returning to the school.
The Ministry of Education insisted that following the meeting, no communication was made to highlight the teachers’ concerns and the ministry went ahead to put measures in place to offer support to staff and students on Monday.
“In a continued effort to support the principal, teachers and staff at the Good Shepherd Primary School in the aftermath of last Friday’s incident at the school, the Ministry of Education. . . deployed four counsellors to the school [Monday] . . . In addition, an education officer was deployed to the school to ensure a smooth resumption of classes. In a further show of support for the safety and security of staff and students, the Barbados Police Service sent two police officers to the school, who remained on the compound.
“The individual at the centre of the issue was not on the premises, and he will not be allowed to return to the school until he has a meeting with the Ministry. Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw continued to work with the police over the weekend, and the matter is currently in the hands of the Barbados Police Service.”
Last Friday, death threats were sent to the teachers’ Whatsapp chat group by another teacher, a source close to the developments told Barbados TODAY.
Pierre said the union was not pleased with how Friday’s situation was handled.
“We came here and we spoke to members of staff,” said Pierre. “In a situation like this where the police have conducted what you will call a bomb sweep or search, [there are certain conditions that must prevail]. I still question the conditions [in which the sweep was conducted] and we will have to have further talks with the Barbados Police Service as to how things were handled.
“We are not comfortable with how things were handled. As far as we are aware, once there is a bomb sweep no one is supposed to be within a certain radius of the building where it is a suspected issue and that was not the case on Friday.
“I was uncomfortable because of what had transpired . . . I was not completely satisfied. I relayed that information to the Chief Education Officer on Friday. I saw a report (press statement) that spoke to certain things, everything was not correct. [As was indicated in the report] classes did not start on Friday. The police service was here just about a quarter to nine in the morning, persons were assembling on the pasture from a quarter to nine as advised by the police.”
Pierre also highlighted challenges the union received on Monday to ascertain information regarding the school’s closure on Monday.
“Coming onto the compound as a representative of our members, there was some resistance from the principal as well as the education officer,” said the BUT vice president. “ I was advised by both the education officer and the principal that I should seek the information from the Chief Education Officer. However, I don’t think that this is the time for resistance. It is an unfortunate situation which we all want resolved; [and] we want the teaching and learning process to continue.
“We just want peace in all situations, and I don’t think that the behaviour exhibited is warranted.”
Provisions for union delegates to investigate matters regarding their membership are outlined in the Trade Union Act.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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