Unfairness to our qualified teachers

Fri, Mar 16. 2012

Editor: Let me begin by asking a question. What are the requirements for a qualified teacher to be hired in St. Vincent and the Grenadines?{{more}}

I begin by asking this question because our qualified teachers are being treated unfairly. There are a lot of teachers today within the teaching service who are not qualified and they have jobs while the qualified teachers have to stand on the side and watch.

There are instances where persons have failed the teacher qualification program at The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College Division of Teacher Education and those persons were hired and given preference over those who are qualified and did an excellent job throughout the qualification program.

It is fair to say that our teachers are no longer hired by qualifications but rather by party and who they know within the respective Ministries.

As a concerned parent, I would like to know because I would not want my children’s future to be damaged by persons who are given a job which they are not qualified to do. I see this as a nurse being given a doctor’s job to do. I am not saying that we don’t all want jobs, but it is not fair to be qualified and jobless.

How are we to encourage our young people to pursue their dreams of being qualified when they are not being hired and treated fairly?

I am calling on the Minister of Education and the Government of this country to address this issue and treat our qualified teacher fairly, because they are jobless while those who are not qualified have jobs and a pay day.

A Concerned Citizen