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Last week the Belize National Teacher’s Union and Minister of Education Patrick Faber made peace when government agreed to provide clarifications about the proposed Teaching Services Commission and even pushed back it’s date to be tabled in the House to next year. But that’s not enough for the Orange Walk Branch of the BNTU. They held a press conference this evening to announce that they outrightly reject the proposed Teaching Services Commission. Before the press event, Branch President Susana Vega told us why via telephone.

Susana Vega, BNTU Orange Walk Branch President
“Our position in the Orange Walk Branch is that we reject it for the following reasons: the composition, the power, and the role and function. In terms of the composition, we have that five of the members who can vote are government affiliated and the five other members are other members who can also vote.

Out of the 12 members, two cannot vote. So that means 50% of the voting members of the Teaching Services Commission are GOB affiliated. Any decision that can be done by the government of the day only needs one vote to carry a ruling. The Chairman has a casting vote in order to break a tie. The members of the TSC can serve for more than one term, they can be there for up to 6 years. So that is what our query is with the composition.

We are happy if our voices are heard. If our voices are heard, at the least, as far as we are concerned, Belize is a free country and we can have the rights to have our voices heard and we are happy with that. We are satisfied with that. Even if the law passes and we are told we can’t do anything about it, but at least we have stated why we are not in favour of this commission and our voices will be loud and clear.”

Vega had much more to say including their opposition to the power of the commission to terminate any teacher. Vega wouldn’t disclose what their plan of action will be. Education Minister Faber has maintained there has been a year of consultations and that stressed that if it is tabled in the House, it will be thoroughly ventilated.

The National Executive of the BNTU which has taken a more moderate stance than its Orange Walk Branch still had some disapproval to place upon the Education Minister today. A release urged him, “in the interest of good working relations, to desist from unnecessary and disparaging words which is only counter-productive to strengthening the working relationship and on addressing the many challenges in Education.”

They’re talking about the statement Faber made last week at the Prime Minister’s press conference when he stated plainly that the decision to install a Teaching Services’ Commission is the government’s decision not the BNTU’s.