Dear Editor,
With reference to an article in Guyana Times dated February 1, wherein the President, Guyana Teachers’ Union, Mr Colin Bynoe stated that the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) “has chosen to do their own thing in terms of what the criteria should be without first consulting or meeting (GTU) formally,” the Teaching Service Commission wishes to set the record straight.
1) The Vacancy Notice 2012, was published at the request of the Ministry of Education which is responsible for generating a list of schools that have vacancies for Senior Appointments in all regions of Guyana. Such a vacancy list was signed and submitted by the competent authority of the Ministry of Education.
2) Although the Teaching Service Commission has no official obligation to do so, the proposed “Criteria for Promotion 2012,” was sent directly to the Guyana Teachers’ Union. This was done as a matter of courtesy and in recognition of the Guyana Teachers’ Union as an important stakeholder in the process. The letter dated December 16, 2011 requested that the GTU review the document and send their comments and recommendations. It must be noted that the minutes of the January statutory meeting of the Teaching Service Commission would reflect the GTU’s nominee stating that he personally delivered that letter to the office of the Guyana Teachers’ Union in December 2011.
3) On January 10, 2012, the Secretary, Teaching Service Commission sent a reminder to the Guyana Teachers’ Union restating the deadline for submission of comments and recommendations. In that letter, the union was again asked to forward its comments to the Commission by January 16, 2012, one month after the original letter was sent.
4) The Confidential Secretary, Teaching Service Commission has documented the fact that she personally contacted the Guyana Teachers’ Union on January 16, 2012, to enquire about the union’s submission and was told that the covering letter was there but the actual criteria could not be located. She dispatched another copy of the criteria to the Guyana Teachers’ Union on the same day.
5) The Guyana Teachers’ Union has a nominee on the Teaching Service Commission who represents the interests of the union. That individual was present at the meeting where the Ministry of Education presented their comments and recommendations regarding the “Criteria for Senior Promotion 2012.” Moreover, that representative would have known that the TSC had already developed and circulated its schedule in relation to deadlines for submission, publishing and all other processes related to Senior Promotions 2012.
6) The “Criteria for making appointments to Senior Posts in Schools, 2012,” is also posted on the Teaching Service Commission’s website www.teachingservicecommission.gov.gy.
The Teaching Service Commission, as a statutory body, has no official agreement with the Guyana Teachers’ Union. Such an agreement exists between Guyana Teachers’ Union and the Ministry of Education.
Yours faithfully,
Pulandar Kandhi
Secretary
Teaching Service Commission
