Today Education Minister Patrick Faber led a press conference on the results of the PSE. And while that's news which interests a large section of the population, it's not the headline tonight – and that's because Faber made bigger news by sharing what might be called, "inconvenient truths" about the teaching profession and the Teachers' union. He spoke about their request for a 30% wage increase in view of the quite dismal PSE results – calling that proposed increase "ridiculously high" and, apparently, un-deserved:
Hon. Patrick Faber - Minister of Education
"The role of the teachers union; you know it's absolutely amazing and I'll go out on a limb that teachers are saying they want a salary adjustment of 30% when the government is saying that they can't afford and then we have the same old results. There is no denying that teachers have a tremendous effect on what these results are."
And Faber wasn't through with the Teachers Union there, he criticized them for standing up for deviant, sub-standard teachers:
Hon. Patrick Faber
"But we have a union in this country and I will get into trouble again for it. That fights for teachers who are incompetent, some of them who are molesters, some of them who don't do their job in the classroom and the officials know it. But we fight for them - they are not functioning, they are not doing the best job and the minute the principal or the management or the ministry tries to bring them up, there is a champion called the Union that fights against."
And there was more about teachers and school management, but while he had the microphone Faber also spoke about corporal punishment, which has been outlawed – even as the practice persists in some schools. In fact, when the Ministry of Education recently visited five schools, it found corporal punishment happening in four of them. Faber says it has to stop:..
Hon. Patrick Faber
"In the five primary schools that have been inspected - four of them found corporal punishment to be alive and kicking. Let me send the signal, loud and clear that there is a zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour and I've instructed the managers of this ministry to do all that is required by the law; for them to report these cases and for teachers who are still using corporal punishment - if it needs be to be charged, we'll make a few exceptions if people insist. I know it's seems very hard but it can't be any other way, it is the law. If you are doing it, cease and desist - if a report is made then don't expect us to powder the situation and to behave like it doesn't exist. It doesn't matter which party you come from, because one of the reports are saying that the lady is a strong UDP - well let me tell you that I have zero tolerance for that even. If you do that and you harm our children there's a report of a teacher who stones a duster and marker well there is no place for that in our schools."
Later on we'll have much more form Faber as he discusses the reasons for the low grades on the PSE, plus we'll have comments from the Leader of the Opposition and former minister of education Francis Fonseca, commenting on some of what you just heard Faber say.
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