12th Grade teachers upset over non-payment of gas allowance
Many teachers turned up to work in September 2016 to learn that they would have to travel to Paraquita Bay, some on a daily basis, to teach 12th Grade students and return to ESHS for their other classes.
Some classes at the lower levels were left in limbo as the 12th Grade was given priority for teachers while recruitment continued.
Teachers of 12th Grade students were also promised a gas allowance for using their personal vehicles to travel between HLSCC and ESHS.
To date they have not received a dime for gas.
“We were told when we started in September that we were going to get gas allowance for transportation. We have not received it. Every time we contact them (Ministry of Education) about it no one returns our call. Ms [Sandy M.] Underhill our Principal has been contacting them and they keep telling her, first, we were going to get it by the end of last year but we have not received it.
“Then they told her we were going to get it in January, by the end of January. It is now February 15th and we still have not received it,” an obviously upset teacher told this news site last week.
Our newsroom was further told that the some thirty (30) teachers affected do not even know how much money they are to receive as gas allowance since they were never told.
“They rushed some type of paper in front of us to sign, till now we don’t know how much we getting per month. Nobody has gotten anything and I am fed up. I am to the point where I just want to stay home. I don’t know who else to contact to get this news out because Myron Walwyn isn’t studying us at all. I used to have his number he blocked me off of Whatsapp. When I try to contact him on Facebook he is not responding. I hate to say it but he just horrible and something needs to be done because this is not fair,” a teacher stated while on the verge of tears.
Hon Walwyn did not respond to our queries on the matter.
‘I can’t afford to keep doing this’
One teacher said having to travel back and forth from HLSCC on a daily basis is already a strain on her as some of her classes at HLSCC and ESHS are not far apart and she is made to “do the impossible” to get to her classes on time while no one is looking into her interests and the other affected teachers.
“There are some that go two and three times a week to the college while there are some that go every day. I go every single day…you asking me to do the impossible and you don’t even want to give me gas. I am filling up my car three times a week and I can’t afford to keep doing this with no compensation, especially when I had no clue that this was happening to me until I reach work in September. You just throw it on me and promise me something and don’t deliver on it.
“No matter who you contact you get nothing,” the teacher related to this news site.
Meanwhile, this news site also made attempts to get a comment from Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Dr Marcia Potter but was unsuccessful.
While it is not clear why the teachers have not been paid their gas allowance as promised, whether the Government can afford it is not a far-fetched question as the National Democratic Party (NDP) has long been accused of raiding the Treasury to win the 2015 snap elections and leaving the territory broke.
Added to that, prior to the elections, Hon Walwyn wasted $1M on a small wall around the Elmore Stoutt High School.
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45 Responses to “12th Grade teachers upset over non-payment of gas allowance”
Let me tell you, that teacher aint lie. I work in town and have to go to the college from Monday to Thursday and I do indeed stop by the gas station twice per week. The resident location of that teacher must also be factored in because she/he has to come to town and then this back and forth to paraquita bay. So until you are in her/his shoes you need to take several seats.
wants to fight and kill people to be premier but constantly creating disasters by poor decision choices. God save the people of the Virgin Islands if ever gets wish to lead.
Yes... Because a lunch hour is too much time for some of them to actually eat and travel between the two schools, gather necessary resources, accommodate students, colleagues and/or parents with questions or concerns...
I don't even know why we bother to have a teaching profession when everybody else always seems to know what's best for teachers... Isn't that how we once thought about children?
I know children in other Caribbean islands write their CXCs in grade 11 and then graduate. Those who want to go further enter 6th form where they do advanced subjects for two years and then move on to university.
Our children now are spending an extra year repeating what they did in grade 11 and then move on to HLSCC where they have to spend another 2 years before they go off to college. Does that make sense? Just wasting the children's time.
They need to scrap the whole stupid additional year because it doesn't make any sense and is costing the government additional expenses: gas allowance for teachers, paying buses to transport students back and forth daily, finding additional teachers etc and how is the additional year helping the children? From what I understand, just a handful of them are doing advanced studies. Most of the others are just wasting time.
I am looking at the broader picture and I hope the BVI starts looking too. I know teacher in bigger nations that don't have a commuter allowance period. They contribute to their classrooms out of their own pocket just like teachers in the BVI. The salaries may be more but the personal living standards are stretched due to pay vs cost of living in these countries. Now I agree that the government needs to sever this parasitic relationship. The government budget needs to be revamped. The UK needs to come in because NDP can't handle it. We can't wait for VIP or any other political party that has to be elected in two years. We need change NOW!!!!!
Civil servants across the globe always complain about their due compensation for the work that they do. It's not unheard of. We also have to look at it this way. Yes, you're doing a job but is everyone doing their job in these positions. Are these civil agencies serving the people as they should? Hospitals are severely understaffed and I'm speaking from personal experience. If you have all the bells and whistles in equipment, what's the purpose and you have no one who is qualified to use them? Where is the nursing school? Where is the medical school? 95% of the employees at the hospital are recruited from other countries. You see the current strike? Ok Then! We don't even have people from here to replace them and it's a damn shame.
The education system needs revamping. You have a problem when your pass/fail standards so the govt HS doesn't look like a failure. Youth relocating from other countries are doing better than the youth from the Virgin Islands. Everyone can't afford private school. Government schools need to get up to par. It's not entirely their fault especially for students who want to learn. Teachers need to be qualified. Not everyone can educate. Set a standard and show results. Then Let's review and see where we can give increments over time at rates the government can afford to teachers who deserve it. The teachers who have been doing a great job won't have a problem but who can't come up to the standard need to go. That waste of money can go to resources for students as well as benefits for teachers who deserve it.
I just want the Virgin Islands to always be great!!!! Let's acknowledge the people who are doing what they are supposed to and more. NDP is in control but everything is out of control. Stop robbing the country thus hurting the people. Let's build up our nation.