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The Ministry of Education has concluded an exhaustive schedule of national consultations on the National Teacher Service Commission. During that time, Minister of Education Patrick Faber has gone into mortal combat with no less than the Catholic Church – elements of which energetically oppose the establishment of the commission which the church feels will deny them the right to hire and fire. And after that trial by fire, it had to be like cool water today when he met with the Leader of the opposition, John Briceno. The meeting lasted for an hour and a half, and we got Briceno’s views when he was leaving.

Jules Vasquez,
“What initially is the Opposition’s feelings on the Teachers Services Commission?”

Hon. Johnny Briceno, PUP Leader
“Well I think initially it is important to point that when it comes to education, the Opposition, the PUP, believes that education is beyond party politics and we need to always look at the interest of our Belizean students. With the issue of the teacher’s commission we met with the Minister today. He asked for a meeting and we went and we listened to his presentation. They have some valid points in what he is attempting to do but as a party leader I need to go back to our party, pass on the information for us tot then give a position.”

And while the Opposition at this time has no discernible position, the government’s position is that let the critics be damned, they’re pushing on. After meeting with Briceno, Faber told us that they expect to have a legislation in place by the end of this year. And what will it include? Faber says even after the consultations the fundamental things remain.

Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
“There are some proposals for changes that we have taken note of from the various stakeholders. The composition of the Commission for instance is one of those areas. There have been suggestions to the way we can improve the selection of parents’ representative or parents representatives and also how we can get a greater participation, probably by putting on a representative from one of the third parties. So those are things that we are looking at and there are other areas that, I have not been in all of these consultations, but the team has made copious notes of all the consultations and will then sit back down to try to incorporate some of these changes but the main essence, no, has not been changed and we don’t expect it to be changed in any great way.

There is this widespread notion out there and it is caused by people saying things and writing things in the newspapers that there is this big difference that they have with what it is that we want to implement and the truth is that when we get down to it, when we get down to the nitty gritty, we can’t really pick up on what it is.

This change, primarily dealing with the Teaching Services Commission is geared towards fixing the problem with teaching services in this country. It will not fix dropouts, it will not fix the problem we have with infrastructure, it will not fix the problem we have necessarily with management and all of these other aspects of education that are out here and we are fully cognizant of the fact that we need to be doing other initiatives and we are doing other initiatives to make sure that the quality of education is improved in this country.”

Jules Vasquez,
“But there is no problem with the teaching services, the problem is that you don’t have control. Yes there are issues but there are remedial procedures, appeals that someone who feels they are being aggrieved can take. Look at the Supreme Court, you can go to the court and have your case heard. So the problem is you don’t have control, that’s really the problem.”

Hon. Patrick Faber,
“No we’ve always had control because we make the payments you see so the truth is that we are proposing this Teaching Services Commission for no other reason other than trying to make things more fair and we are saying let’s change that, let’s leave no room for political interference, let’s leave no room for denominational interference, let’s leave no room for unfair interference and let’s put this in the hands of a wide group of people, stakeholders of education who will then make these decisions.”

Jules Vasquez,
“Alternately, let’s put it in the hands of a labyrinthine bureaucracy which has to manage thousands of teachers from north to the south and is incapable of administrating…”

Hon. Patrick Faber,
“It is no different from how it is now.”

Jules Vasquez,
“How it is now, the school management is responsive to the needs of the schools.”

Hon. Patrick Faber,
“That is not changing. I think that is one of the major misperceptions. The authority lies with the Commission yes and will lie I should say with the commission but that authority is being delegated to the managing authorities as is the case now and all of these services that are now being handled by the management are regulated by the government through the Ministry of Education through the School Services Department.”

Jules Vasquez,
“So your feeling is that in September it will be tabled in the National Assembly?”

Hon. Patrick Faber,
“That is our view. That is our wish. We hope that it can at least be introduced and I can assure everybody that it is not going to be one of those Bills that we rush through the three readings in one sitting. It will take its due course in the National Assembly and everybody can get their opportunity at the time that it goes to Committee to further write in and to even see an audience with the committee and we hope to get it passed by the end of the calendar year.”

Faber noted that one more consultation has been scheduled with the opponents of the commission in the Catholic School management. Notably, the Council of Churches – which participated in their consultation last week issued a release saying that the council gave its support to the proposals for the teachers commission. A few days later, the Bishop’s Commission, a body tasked to study and report on the future of Catholic education in Belize issued a release saying that the proposal is incomplete and a work in progress – and that the Catholic Church will be presenting a position paper at an unspecified time. So, the Council of Churches is in, but the church which manages more than 50% of the schools nationally is asking for a more complete study.

And one prominent UDP who considers even the catholic position conservative is Dean Russell Lindo. He’s one of the founders of the party and uncle to the Prime Minister but that didn’t stop him from going on a rant against the commission last week on no less than the UDP’s Wave Radio. He characterized it as a communist manoeuvre, wrong-headed and politically suicidal. Today Faber told us those harsh remarks cut him deep.

Hon. Patrick Faber,
“I will tell you that that is a heartbreaking situation for me. I see Mr. Lindo almost on a daily basis at our normal hangout spot at Brad’s at Farmer’s Market and Mr. Lindo has never come to me to say or to ask me anything about the Teaching Services Commission or to find out my views and so I found it very disheartening. But please don’t force me into that conversation. He is a senior ranking member of the UDP, yes a person who I have a lot of respect for and I can’t say I agree with him but I do have a lot of respect for him.”

Jules Vasquez,
“But I don’t want to impute upon his motive but it is not impossible that Mr. Lindo could have been as they say running interference for maybe some other people in the party who can’t speak out because they may be too close to you or to the situation.”

Hon. Patrick Faber,
“But why would there need to be interference. I want to make that clear because that has been a point that I think one of the newspapers made that Mr. Lindo may be getting in to discipline me. Well I’ll tell you, that in the Cabinet room I have full support about the things that we are trying to fix in education. I have the full support of our Prime Minister and I believe I have the full support of all my colleagues. I don’t know if there is something else going on behind the scenes. I have never heard of it, I don’t know of it.”

Jules Vasquez,
“Well that is why it is behind the scenes.”

Hon. Patrick Faber,
“My colleagues by and large endorse these changes.”