`To say that the Ministry is frustrating the teachers is grossly incorrect and highly mischievous.’ – Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. Ganga Persaud
PERMANENT Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Mr. Ganga Persaud has categorically denied that the Ministry was delaying wage negotiations with the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) Rather, the Minister has “been exceedingly accommodating to the extent that we turned up to meetings clashing with former schedules.” The Ministry, Persaud added, was not consulted on the dates for the meetings, but it attended, nevertheless.
To say that the Ministry is frustrating the teachers is grossly incorrect and highly mischievous,” Persaud said.
The Permanent Secretary was responding to an article in the Saturday issue of the Guyana Chronicle which stated that due to the impasse between the GTU and the Education Ministry, teachers were planning on migrating.
The article referred to statements by the union’s First Vice President, Mr. Philip Roberts, who said failure to reach a speedy resolution has resulted in disenchantment among teachers who are leaving at the rate of 20 per month. The article, which the Government Information Agency (GINA) said demonstrated misplaced reasoning and poor journalism since it sought no response from the Ministry, added that 12 lecturers from the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) have resigned.
Wages and salaries disputes are not rare in any developing society, so this could never be the prime reason for persons to leave Guyana. As a matter of fact, skilled people migrate for various reasons.
For example, yesterday, the Ministry and the GTU met under the chairmanship of the Chief Labour Officer, Mohammed Akeel to work out mechanisms which could possibly lead to arbitration. They will meet again on Tuesday, October 21,” GINA said.
According to Persaud, the Ministry has arrangements in place to pay Whitley Council allowances with effect from January 2003. They will also make another payment to bring unqualified teachers salaries up to the level of the Public Service minimum wage.
Mr. Persaud said that there has been an incremental approach over the past three years to remove disparities in the salary level of the under-qualified teacher.
Government, showing its willingness to bridge the gap between salaries received by teachers and the lowest level of public servants, stated in May, their intention to expend $60M to make this possible, GINA said.
Teachers receive salaries in accordance with their qualifications. GINA said the salary scales for teachers rank are as follows:
• Junior Teachers: teachers who join the profession with passes at the Secondary Schools Proficiency Examination (SSPE) - $20, 075;
• Trained Teachers: teachers who had undergone two years’ training at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) - $38,400;
• Untrained Graduate: teachers who have degrees in related subjects receive $53,072, which amounts to $20,000 more than persons in the Public Service with corresponding qualifications,
• Trained Graduate Teachers: teachers who had training and have a degree, receive approximately $59,325, while persons in the Public Service with similar qualifications earn $34,242,
• Persons joining the teaching profession with five subjects at the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) receive $23,880,
• Teachers with two A’ Level passes receive $27,063, whereas in the public service those persons receive $24,109,
• Other teachers with three passes at the A’ Level Examination receive $38,400, which is as much as a trained teacher. Such a person receives only $24,000 in the public service.
Over the years, several aspects of the teaching profession were changed to allow for advancement at various levels. A built-in incentive scheme was introduced into the salary structure of teachers, so that they could upgrade their qualifications and earn higher salaries.
In 1994, teachers received an increase of approximately 100 per cent, while in 2001 it was 5.5 per cent, and in 2002, the increase ranged between five and 15 per cent.
The lower scale teachers received 15 per cent, while the higher paid received five per cent.
Other questionable points in the Guyana Chronicle’s article, GINA said, were promises made for house lots for teachers that were reneged on by the Ministry of Housing and Water.
Government has been working to provide increases and other benefits for teachers. These include the provision of house lots, full payment of examination fees for their children, risk allowance, vacation allowance and the reduction of the Whitley Allowance eligibility period. Further, house lots were always offered to teachers and teacher migration is no new phenomenon, GINA said.