Pres. Ali still to appoint Teaching Service Commission

Pres. Ali still to appoint Teaching Service Commission – GTU President

Sep 29, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Months after the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) had written to President, Irfaan Ali, requesting that he appoint members to the Teaching Service Commission (TSC); the Union is still awaiting a response or an acknowledgement of its letter.
According to the President of the GTU, Mark Lyte, President Ali’s failure to appoint a new Commission, could once again have the appointments of senior and junior teachers in limbo.
The TSC, which is tasked with promoting public school teachers, was dissolved about a month ago. As a constitutional body, the Commission usually comprises of four members nominated by the President, one member nominated by the opposition party, and another nominated by the GTU.
According to Lyte, the GTU is hopeful that the President will pick up the Union’s letter that was sent since July 2021, and act on it steadily since the absence of the TSC has a significant impact not only on new appointees but also teacher’s gratuity.
On Monday night, during a Globespan interview, Lyte revealed the worrying factors of the nonexistence of the Commission and stated, “We are concerned because right now schools are understaffed and we cannot have new persons employed because there is no TSC.”
The GTU President added that every year senior vacancies are published and teachers apply for those but due to the absence of the Commission, there will be no teacher vacancies published in 2021 and the senior appointments will not be made. Lyte further stated that, “Some teachers may retire at their present status without being given the opportunity to be promoted. We have some teachers that are going to migrate and they are going to lose the opportunity to move to another level.”
Without moves to install a new Commission, Lyte said that the Union is worried that eligible teachers will again have to wait to be duly promoted.
Lyte had previously stated that without the TSC in place, the GTU is worried that School Boards will be allowed to resume responsibility for appointments. However, according to him, the Union does not feel comfortable with School Boards doing appointments, as that process is often fraught with a lot of discrepancies. He said it could very well force the Union to seek the intervention of the court.
Moreover, Lyte said there is a shortage of teachers and due to this factor, the teachers that are currently in the school system will have to carry larger classes. “It is a grave concern and we would like to see it addressed,” Lyte expressed.

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