Bahamas News
09-21-04, - 03:27 PM
School unrest Black: Doris Johnson sit-in may be tip of iceberg
BY Keva Lightbourne
Nassau Guardian
http://www.bahamasissues.com/images/news/school.jpg
Just two weeks into the new school year, already delayed by Hurricane Frances, the Ministry of Education is faced yet again with dealing with another sticky situation.
Classes at the Doris Johnson High School were unexpectedly cut short on Monday when teachers staged a sit-in, protesting a shortage of teaching staff and "uncaring" janitorial staff.
The teachers are claiming that the staff shortage has led to an inordinate amount of students being placed in classrooms, which has exceeded the limit of 35 students per classroom. Further, they are charging that it seems as if the janitorial staff have been given a "blank cheque" to do what they want around the school and they are not doing properly what they were hired to do.
The Guardian was reliably informed that classes came to an abrupt end sometime before the mid-morning break, leaving more than 1,000 students unattended.
When the Guardian arrived at the Prince Charles Drive School location shortly after 2 p.m, students were observed to be milling about in the rear of the school building. Administration staff and executives of the Bahamas Union of Teachers were said to be in a meeting.
Within 15 minutes of the Guardian's arrival they emerged and were quickly hustled into the auditorium where they met with the teaching staff. That meeting lasted for more than an hour.
When contacted, Bahamas Union of Teachers president Kingsley Black confirmed to the Guardian that there was a serious "staff shortage." In addition to that, he said, the teachers were fed up with the way the janitorial staff were going about doing their job.
"They are doing as they please," he said.
However, he confirmed that after the "fruitful" meeting the teachers decided to discontinue their protest, after being told that more teachers were expected to show up for classes today.
The BUT will review the situation on Wednesday, Mr Black said.
Lack of specialist teachers
In the meantime, he said, there was a need for three more Math teachers; one Home Economics teacher and one for Family Life, among others.
"If by Friday the problem has not been rectified, the teachers will resume their sit-in," Mr Black announced.
Internecine conflict
"The level of discontent among teachers, even administrators, in the system is rising. This is all connected to the leadership crisis that is now being experienced in the Ministry of Education. There is a strong internal conflict at the top decision level and this is making it more difficult to solve the day-to-day problems," he charged.
Further, Mr Black said, problems are not being resolved in a timely fashion. He advised the Ministry to resolve their internal problems post haste so that the system can deliver quality education.
Problem spreading
Mr Black predicted that the problem now being experienced at Doris Johnson High is only the beginning of more to come. He told The Guardian that while in the meeting with the school administration, a call was left on his cell-phone answering machine, which stated that he needed to get in contact with teachers at the D. W. Davis school.
Last week, he said, there were complaints at R. M. Bailey School regarding the same problems of staff shortage, furniture shortage and there was still a need to address the situation in the school's gym, which had been partially destroyed by fire last year.
The Guardian was unable to speak with the administration staff of Doris Johnson High School or the Ministry of Education officials up to press time.
However, someone who was close to the situation claimed that during the weeks leading up to the reopening of the school, administration officials continued to register new students knowing that the figures were climbing to an extraordinary amount.
The source claimed that along with the over-crowing and staff shortage, the school is also faced with a low water pressure situation.
Doris Johnson High School caters to students in grades 10 to 12.
BY Keva Lightbourne
Nassau Guardian
http://www.bahamasissues.com/images/news/school.jpg
Just two weeks into the new school year, already delayed by Hurricane Frances, the Ministry of Education is faced yet again with dealing with another sticky situation.
Classes at the Doris Johnson High School were unexpectedly cut short on Monday when teachers staged a sit-in, protesting a shortage of teaching staff and "uncaring" janitorial staff.
The teachers are claiming that the staff shortage has led to an inordinate amount of students being placed in classrooms, which has exceeded the limit of 35 students per classroom. Further, they are charging that it seems as if the janitorial staff have been given a "blank cheque" to do what they want around the school and they are not doing properly what they were hired to do.
The Guardian was reliably informed that classes came to an abrupt end sometime before the mid-morning break, leaving more than 1,000 students unattended.
When the Guardian arrived at the Prince Charles Drive School location shortly after 2 p.m, students were observed to be milling about in the rear of the school building. Administration staff and executives of the Bahamas Union of Teachers were said to be in a meeting.
Within 15 minutes of the Guardian's arrival they emerged and were quickly hustled into the auditorium where they met with the teaching staff. That meeting lasted for more than an hour.
When contacted, Bahamas Union of Teachers president Kingsley Black confirmed to the Guardian that there was a serious "staff shortage." In addition to that, he said, the teachers were fed up with the way the janitorial staff were going about doing their job.
"They are doing as they please," he said.
However, he confirmed that after the "fruitful" meeting the teachers decided to discontinue their protest, after being told that more teachers were expected to show up for classes today.
The BUT will review the situation on Wednesday, Mr Black said.
Lack of specialist teachers
In the meantime, he said, there was a need for three more Math teachers; one Home Economics teacher and one for Family Life, among others.
"If by Friday the problem has not been rectified, the teachers will resume their sit-in," Mr Black announced.
Internecine conflict
"The level of discontent among teachers, even administrators, in the system is rising. This is all connected to the leadership crisis that is now being experienced in the Ministry of Education. There is a strong internal conflict at the top decision level and this is making it more difficult to solve the day-to-day problems," he charged.
Further, Mr Black said, problems are not being resolved in a timely fashion. He advised the Ministry to resolve their internal problems post haste so that the system can deliver quality education.
Problem spreading
Mr Black predicted that the problem now being experienced at Doris Johnson High is only the beginning of more to come. He told The Guardian that while in the meeting with the school administration, a call was left on his cell-phone answering machine, which stated that he needed to get in contact with teachers at the D. W. Davis school.
Last week, he said, there were complaints at R. M. Bailey School regarding the same problems of staff shortage, furniture shortage and there was still a need to address the situation in the school's gym, which had been partially destroyed by fire last year.
The Guardian was unable to speak with the administration staff of Doris Johnson High School or the Ministry of Education officials up to press time.
However, someone who was close to the situation claimed that during the weeks leading up to the reopening of the school, administration officials continued to register new students knowing that the figures were climbing to an extraordinary amount.
The source claimed that along with the over-crowing and staff shortage, the school is also faced with a low water pressure situation.
Doris Johnson High School caters to students in grades 10 to 12.