Williams: We’ll keep bringing in the data
Published:Friday | August 18, 2023 | 12:11 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
AHEAD OF the upcoming annual Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) conference, Education Minister Fayval Williams is declaring that her ministry will continue to keep abreast of updates on the number of teachers who leave the education sector.
She was speaking to The Gleaner yesterday following the sixth annual St James Southern High Achievers’ Awards Ceremony at the Mount Carey Baptist Church in St James, where 123 Primary Exit Profile [PEP] students from the constituency were awarded for achieving overall scores of 300 or higher.
“The data is what it is, and maybe in a particular school they may see more than the normal number of teachers leaving, but when we aggregate the data across all the regions, these are the numbers that we have at the moment. If you recall, last year when I made my presentation, I presented several times as we got new numbers,” said Williams.
“That is what I have been doing this year as well, and, if more numbers come in, then we will say. But, as at yesterday [Wednesday] when I spoke, those were the numbers that we had.”
Williams was referring to her presentation during Wednesday’s post-Cabinet press briefing where she announced that there has been a 73 per cent decline in the number of teachers who have resigned from the public sector between January and September this year.
During that presentation, Williams indicated that, since January this year, 427 teachers have resigned, compared to the 1,538 who resigned over a similar period last year.
However, some critics of Williams’ claim have argued that the presented data is incomplete or inaccurate, as there are still two weeks remaining in August and September has yet to begin.
The issue of teachers departing from Jamaica’s classrooms has been a longstanding thorny issue, with the desire for better-paying jobs being identified as a key reason why many educators migrate.
In April this year, the JTA and the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools had urged the Government to meet with teachers and resolve the disquiet over the calculation of educators’ salaries.
Asked what she expects will be the primary issues to be brought to her by teachers when the JTA’s annual conference begins on August 21 at the Royalton Hotel in Westmoreland, Williams said that school infrastructure will likely be among the major talking points.
“I know the perpetual issue in the sector relates to the infrastructure of our schools, the buildings, the furniture, the quality of the staffroom, and so forth. Our efforts since school reopened into the full face-to-face environment have been better than in prior years, but, still, we are a long way off in terms of what we really need to do to improve the overall infrastructure of our schools,” said Williams.