Education officers should visit schools to not only berate but to improve

Dec 25, 2024 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Last month, some education officers from the Department of Education Region 4 visited Annandale Secondary School under the guise of addressing the findings from a ‘Math Intervention’ event and to discuss how to improve the school overall. However, the session with these officers ended up being more of a dressing-down and fault-finding venture with no tangible ideas proffered by the officers on how the school can be improved nor were they receptive to those offered by teachers.  They were more interested in castigating, for instance, they went through teachers’ files and found it ‘alarming’ that more reprimand letters were not placed in them. Subsequently, the headteacher was ordered to issue letters to teachers and to ensure that files were fattened with a steady supply of such.

During the meeting we were faced with a variety of personalities and none showed that they were able to provide evidence for what they spouted and accused us of. For instance, one looked at us ferociously and exclaimed that she lived in the village and knew that our stories are ‘stink, stink, skink’ yet she failed to provide details. Was it a moral issue or one rooted in objectivity? Morality is a subjective matter and nobody should be imposing their brand on others.

Another said that he spoke with some children and they complained about not being selected to be prefects. The officer then accused teachers of being racists however, the scolding died down when he saw who was in charge of selecting prefects. Nevertheless, he should know that prefects are selected based on conduct and not ethnicity. And if 75% of those in the grade being considered are from one ethnic group then it stands to reason that one may have more prefects from that group. Regardless, the officer made his accusations but provided no details including the ethnicity of the children who complained or backed up his statements with evidence of preferential treatment. The same officer also took a frivolous complaint made by some students as legitimate and a serious matter. The students complained about not having access to the canteen during instruction time, in other words, not being able to go buy snacks, chat with their friends and loiter outside the classroom when teaching is being done.  Students are given a mid-morning break, one hour for lunch and dismissal is at 2.30 pm. The fact that the officer considered this complaint is laughable.

The team also accused teachers of not having the required records yet failed to berate themselves for not providing adequate support to teachers new to administrative duties or ensuring that systems were in place to ensure smooth transitions and it seemed like they hadn’t familiarised themselves adequately with the circulars issued by the Ministry of Education (MoE) regarding records. The observations are too numerous to mention but it appeared as if the main objective was to sow discord and widen the rift rather than applying a more balanced approach. After the visit a Memorandum was issued by the DoE Region 4 informing teachers that they’d by disciplined for conduct such as: having bright coloured hair and wigs; wearing round neck tops and displaying aggressive behaviour (how would this be judged, seems vague).

Given their behaviour I wonder why education officers visit schools in the first place. They serve as the liaison between schools and the MoE therefore they are empowered not only to find faults but to address and meet the needs of the schools they are responsible for, if possible, by liaising with the relevant departments within the MoE. At Annandale Secondary School, subjects are being done yet the teachers are without textbooks for the students, staff shortages in particular departments, the need for training/workshops or mentoring; and other issues. The officers would make a greater impact by not only being disciplinarians but by reaching out for assistance to improve the schools they are assigned to. They can also divert resources in terms of materials and manpower for example, within an education district, there may be an excess of teachers and textbooks in one school while in another it’s the opposite.

Editor, these former teachers who are now education officers need to work with teachers to improve the education system rather than create discontent, rifts, and stalemates. Each side is dependent on the other for progress to be achieved.

Yours sincerely,

Narissa Deokarran

(Education officers should visit schools to not only berate but to improve)

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• accused teachers, Annandale Secondary school, balanced approach, Ministry of Education, racists

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