Teachers involved in remedial classes for slow learners throughout the country say they have not been paid since January and some have become very frustrated and are calling on the Ministry of Education to provide them with answers instead of having them “running around in circles”.
Stabroek News spoke to several of the affected teachers—some of whom are single parents—and they said while the $30,000 they are paid monthly for two hours of work, four days a week is nothing to write home about they were depending on it and it is just not right for them to be denied payment without any explanation.
Attempts to get a comment from the Ministry of Education on the issue yesterday proved futile.
The teachers said they have been attempting to get answers from officials at the ministry but instead have been shunted from one official to the next. Every month they turn up at the various regional offices in the hope of receiving payment only to be told that the ministry has not contacted regional officials. While some visit the regional offices those in Georgetown visit the ministry’s office at 21 Brickdam for payment, to no avail.
This is not the first time teachers involved in the programme have experienced problems receiving payment since it began in 2008. This newspaper has, in the past, published stories and letters from affected teachers. However, it was explained that this is the longest they have gone without payment and they are even more concerned following rumours that at the end of next month the programme will be discontinued. This newspaper was told at the end of December last year, the teachers’ contracts came to an end and they were given new six-month contracts. While they have kept their end of the bargain by going to the various schools to teach the children, the ministry has not reciprocated.
“This is just frustrating and it is not right. I wonder if the senior officials at the ministry would wait this long for their salaries?” one upset teacher asked.
It was pointed out that even with the growing problem ministry officials have made it known that should the teachers stay away from work for more than four days they would lose a month’s payment.
“They have you running around in circles, right now we want a definite word on when we would be paid because we work for our money. We have been trying not to say anything and [not to] approach the media but it is getting overbearing and we cannot take it anymore,” another teacher said.
All the teachers who spoke preferred not have their names published for fear of being further victimised.
The remedial programme sees the teachers working with slow learners in the areas of literacy and numeracy.
