And while the Ministry’s clash with the union will probably reverberate for days, the one at Claver College Extension still has legs.
As we reported, 9 out of 11 teachers were terminated after they protested a new stipend system presented by the board. The bord and teachers could not settle on this issue.
Well, we asked Education Minister Patrick Faber about it today and he didn’t provide much of a solution at all. He said that the school is private, so the ministry will observe from the sidelines and allow the board the handle this situation. But Faber also said the school better get it together quick because if not he can cut their special funding grant. Here is how he put it.
Hon. Patrick Faber - Deputy Prime Minister
"If you recall the last time the school was in the news, it was because the management of the school was indicating that they did not have the fund to pay the teachers and I had said to them, provided they get their act together and put together a proper board and show us that they are complying with certain things that only could help in terms of the school being managed properly. We would then consider whether we would give them a special assistance grant. We worked with the school to ensure that some of those things were cleared up and evidently now they are engaged in some turmoil in terms of their management issues. It just so happens that Lisel Alamilla who was a former minister of government is the chair but that has nothing to do with the government. The government did not appoint Lisel Alamilla to act on its behalf and that has nothing to do with government or the Ministry of Education. So I want to make that crystal clear, that is by chance and so that is a matter for them to discuss. But I've said that the Ministry of Education continues to observe this situation and where it is that we feel the school is not being managed properly; we reserve the right to withhold special assistance. So we're watching the situation carefully but it is not a situation that we are in a hurry to jump on to and try to arrest because we have enough of schools that are grant aided and government owned that we have to deal with."
Faber says the ministry will evaluate the school’s curriculum and quality of education.
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