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Linden headmaster defy TSC ruling on automatic promotion
… secondary school children read at Day Care Centre level
Lindeners early yesterday morning came out in their numbers to show solidarity with headmaster of the Wismar Multilateral School, Cleveland Thomas.
Thomas was recently ordered to appear before a disciplinary committee of the Teaching Service Commission for failing to adhere to the Ministry of Education’s new policy of promoting students regardless of whether they had failed their end of year examination.
Mr. Thomas in an invited comment, moments after leaving his meeting with the Teaching Service Commission, said that he would rather face disciplinary action than sacrifice his strong values.
A section of the crowd yesterday in front of the Teaching Service Commission.
“I am willing to pay the price to make sure my kids don’t go through the cracks,” he said.
Thomas also showed members of the media pieces of work from students whom he claimed cannot even read or write and in some cases do not even know the alphabet.
“I’ve been teaching for 28 years and my conscience tells me that I cannot promote such students.”
Thomas noted that some of the students in his estimation are operating at Grade One and Day Care Centre levels.
The Ministry had announced last year the “no child left behind” which should have been implemented this year. This new policy should see children being promoted to another class even though they fail their end of year examination.
During the demonstration staged by the Lindeners in front of the Teaching Service Commission Brickdam office, angry parents and other residents said that they did not agree with the Ministry’s position.
President of the School’s parent teacher association body, Claude Williams, said that their action is to show solidarity for Mr. Thomas.
Williams said under the leadership of Mr. Thomas, the Wismar Multilateral School has seen a dramatic improvement in CXC grades.
“For the past four to five years we have been recording 87 per cent passes at CXC with more Grade One passes…And it is utter nonsense to just put over students to another classing knowing that they are not ready.”
One parent said that this new system will further contribute to produce a society of illiterates and a continuous cycle of crime.
“The automatic promotion thing only doing bad for them children. At the end of the day we will get a bunch of thieves, prostitutes and murderers,” said a parent who was a part of the protest.
During the protest, the some 100 parents and other concerned residents carried placards calling for the withdrawal of the ‘automatic promotion’.
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