THE fate of some 100 teachers who have been deregistered from local and overseas universities because of non-payment of fees was still hanging in the balance yesterday, despite a plea from the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) for the government to release funds under the $500-million Professional Development Fund.

Hopeton Henry, president of the association, said government had failed to act in good faith as it had missed the third deadline to make the funds available as agreed last October.

A disappointed JTA head told the Observer that no definite word had been forthcoming, but said association would continue to pursue the matter with the education and finance ministries.

In the meantime, Education Minister Maxine Henry Wilson said ‘nothing new’ had been forthcoming from Cabinet’s discussion of the matter as a response was still being awaited from Solicitor General Michael Hylton to clarify an issue on which the Cabinet was undecided.

“One issue that has arisen is a question as to whether we should have used somewhere like the Student’s Loan Bureau and the advice we have so far is that they were eligible to bid on the contract; we didn’t prevent them but we have gone through the contractual process and we can’t violate it at this point in time so we just want to get it in writing for the records of the Cabinet,” Henry Wilson said.

The minister, however, sought to quell fears that the delay was because the funds were not available.

“.We have it (funds) ready, we just need to make sure that all the procedures are correct,” the education minister said. She said, however, that it was still not definite when the funds would be released.

“Whatever the response the solicitor general gives I have to take it back to the Cabinet…to satisfy themselves with the response,” she said.

But JTA president Henry said his association remained uncomfortable with the situation.

“. If the funds are available for the first tranche I don’t see why anything should happen that should hold it up. I would love to see a timeline attached,” Henry told the Observer.

“I really hope the solicitor general can see the urgency of the whole thing and move with dispatch in dealing with it,” he added.

The JTA reported on Monday that 100 teachers had been deregistered from overseas and local universities because the funds for their tuition were not available.

The fund was instituted on the recommendation the Task Force on Educational Reform (2004). The $500 million revolving loan facility was intended to provide loans to teachers to facilitate their professional upgrading up to the first degree level and was expected to be operational from 2006 to 2012.