ESHS teachers reached ‘point of a rock & a hard place’- Union President
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Teachers on Friday, September 15, 2023, walked out of the classrooms to stage a sit-in protest under the ‘big tent’ at the campus in Road Town over several ongoing issues and challenges.
“The issues have been ongoing ever since the end of last term, the teachers had some concerns, especially when it came to ventilation. Primarily resourcing also… There are a myriad of them, I have a whole list of them that I have to put together to send a report on to the Premier,” Henry told the Media in a Friday, September 15, 2023, interview.
Issues stagnant for years
He added that neither the administration of the school nor the Ministry of Education have been able to address challenges with internet infrastructure, ventilation, mold in AC Units, garbage disposal, teacher furniture, along with equipment and resources to name a few.
“So the teachers now at a point of a rock and a hard place because they are required to teach the required [hours], to put quality to their craft, but they're still in a situation where they have to compromise a little bit too much,” he said.
Henry said although the teachers have met with the Premier, he is not satisfied with the meeting with the Premier, since the issues have been ongoing for years, “Honestly, I am not totally satisfied… I think that we've been speaking about these issues for years, and this is one of the reasons why the teachers have gotten to this point. This is not this year, this is not a fresh issue,” he said.
“This is an issue that has been ongoing, and they have gotten to the point where it is really affecting their mental [health], and in order to get their headspace cleared, this is where we have to be, this is what we have to do,” he said.
Henry further related that while the union and teachers are thankful that the Premier took the time to meet with the teachers, they remain for him to make the effort to sort many of these issues as simple as cutting grass and landscaping.
Union to implement timelines - Henry
“But there are other issues like ventilation and resources that are really plaguing the teachers in the classroom. So, we're working on getting this information to him specifically so that he can go up and down the chain of command, so we can get these things rectified,” he added.
The Teachers Union President added that the union is also looking to institute timelines for the resolution of these issues, given procedures like procurement would take time.
He said teachers are willing to work along with the Premier; however, Mr Henry noted that in the meantime, teachers still have to teach the children and they have to be taught properly.
The Premier has since committed to investigating and resolving challenges raised by the teachers and union as soon as a report is received by him.
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18 Responses to “ESHS teachers reached ‘point of a rock & a hard place’- Union President”
After all being said, I would like to know how the students who wrote the C.X.C examination performed. I would hope that Territory had excellent results, especially those students from E.S.H.S. When a school is performing well academically, I would not objection if the government is spending money to provide all the necessities for the school. I will give my unswerving support to education to ensure the results are excellent. For I know very well that in some of the other Caribbean countries, some students are not as fortunate to have all these amenities that we have here and are excelling at the C.X.C examination.
What are the members benefits ...medical, retirement,salary etc.
People including you need to stop blaming Lorna for anything that goes wrong with our government.
If I recall on election night the VIP had six elected candidates and the other side had seven. If you can recall too, the PVIM/NDP/Frazer made all kind a back door deals before election. Yet still on election night they still could not agree on who should have leadership. Don’t blame Hon. Lorna Smith for this put it where it rightly belong. She did what anyone with sense would do and move to the other side.
By the way if either Hon. Frazer or Hon. Skelton became premier/deputy we would’ve at the election poll by December.