Dear Editor,
School is reopening in less than 2 weeks for the new school year, a new curriculum is being rolled out and parents collected their ‘Because we Care’ cash grant. Praises are pouring in for this initiative by the government form parents and other stakeholders. The caretakers of the disable collected an assistance grant, rice farmers are getting help with fertilizers and the list goes on. What happened to the teachers who have to create a child friendly environment? Where is the assistance in the provision of materials to create such an environment?
Every year teachers are expected to put their hands in their pockets to buy materials. You have education official checklist looking for a set of requirements. Teachers have to go into their pockets to create this environment. The cost of cardboard, markers, blocks etc. What happened to the teacher’s discount cards? What are some ways they plan to help teachers cushion the rising cost of all these materials? With the technology being used to submit records to the Ministry of Education, why can’t lesson plans be submitted ‘soft copy’? The teacher is expected to print out same especially.
In most cases a 4-page document every day. This document is then shelved, can’t be reused to be printed on except for scrap paper. Why is a teacher expected to provide for her class toilet tissue, hand soap, hand sanitizer, chalk (white and coloured)? Asking the parents for assistance is prohibited. In some cases, the Parent Teacher Association dues are not enough to cover these items. Teachers are the only profession that have to use their salaries to effectively perform at their jobs. Coupled with these expectations our teachers are running frustrated. It is only a matter of time before we experience ‘Brain drain’ as our sister nation Jamaica is experiencing right now. The cost of living is rising every day yet their salaries remain the same.
Sincerely,
Roxanne Aulder
