KINLOSS, Trelawny

Controversy is brewing in this small rural community over the appointment of Telka Holt- the People’s National Party (PNP’s) councillor/ caretaker for the area – as board chairman of the state-run Kinloss Primary School.

Several community members have charged that due process did not take place in appointing the chairman, who took up the post last month.

“We were not consulted on the matter. As far as I know there was supposed to be consultations between the principal, the member of parliament and an education officer on the matter, before a recommendation is made, and that was not done,” said Fitzroy Waldoo, a community member, who served on the previous board.

The residents are also peeved that Holt, who unsuccessfully contested the Sherwood Content division on the PNP’s ticket in last year’s local government polls, does not reside in the community where the school in located.

Additionally, those who are opposing Holt’s appointment say too, that they are against political activists holding that position.

“We nah seh a PNP can’t get the job, but he or she should not be an activist, and Holt is one,” another community member charged.

But yesterday, Dr Patrick Harris, the member of parliament for the area, who admitted in an interview with the Observer West, that he recommended Holt for the post without having consultations with the education officer for the region and the school principal, stoutly defended Holt’s appointment.

“I am looking for people who are young, visionary, with management skills and who value education, to be board chairmen for the schools (in the constituency),” Harris said, adding that the newly appointed chairman possess those qualities.

Dr Harris who was first elected as the MP for North Trelawny in the 2002 general elections, added that he was departing from situations where persons get appointment as “a form of payback for doing political favours”.

He also told the Observer West that over the past years there have been “problems” with school boards at Kinloss Primary, and expressed confidence that Holt would use her expertise to raise the bar at that institution.

And while not denying that she is a political activist, Holt said there is no need for the community to be concerned about her ties with the Opposition PNP.

“I wear many hats and in each section of my deliberations, at all times I make sure that as a professional I deal with the situation on hand. I am not going out there to say, for example, as chairman of the Kinloss school board and being a PNP you should go this way or that way… absolutely not,” she emphasised.

She described herself as a very hard working person, craving the development of the communities in her division. “I am a hard worker and what I want for my districts as a politician, is to see development, and if it means that I will have to take up a broom and sweep, I will do it,” she said.

“It has nothing to do with politics, the bottom line is that I want to see development in my community and in my people.”

Meanwhile, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) caretaker for North Trelawny, Senator Dennis Meadows said yesterday, that while he is not questioning Holt’s “willingness and competence,” he believes that her appointment could put the school at a disadvantage, particularly in its fundraising activities.

“With her as chairman of the board the school could have great difficulty in raising funds, bearing in mind that we are living in a polarised society,” he argued.

At the same time, he is urging the member of parliament to ensure that consensus is reached before recommendations are made for the appointment of school board chairmen.

Holt said that although the board is yet to meet, she has already had discussions with the school’s principal and other stakeholders in an effort to raise the standard of education at the institution.

She said her plans for the institution, which now has a population of 155 students and five teachers, include:

. the creation of a computer laboratory;

. the erection of a perimeter fencing;

. the expansion of the school’s library, and

. skills training for some students.

The chairman stressed that she was confident that during her two-year tenure as board chairman, the level of education at the co-educational institution will be significantly improved.