Payments for summer school work to start this week
THE Ministry of Education, Youth and Information says teachers should, by September 2, start receiving payments for summer school work.
“Teachers have not yet been paid for duties performed during summer school, but it must be noted that we are still within the period committed for payments to be made,” the ministry said in an e-mail response to Jamaica Observer questions.
According to the ministry, teachers were set to receive payments on August 31, but the processing of claims were delayed due to several iterations of the documentations submitted.
“This resulted from the incomplete contracts, incorrect calculations as well as the disruptions of work schedules and the unavailability of tutors to complete and sign to the changes, due to the challenges imposed by the novel coronavirus pandemic,” the ministry said.
The summer programme, which was designed under the education ministry’s Recover Smarter — National School Learning and Intervention Plan — ran from July 5 to August 19.
It was done to help students recover from learning loss due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
A number of teachers complained about the delay in payment. They said they were anticipating the payment last week, particularly because they have been facing financial challenges caused by the pandemic.
The exact amount to the teachers was not immediately clear, but one teacher said that amount for each was less than $30,000.
The ministry explained that information regarding the processing of payments was shared at the regional level, which might have been the reason why teachers have not received details concerning the matter.
“Notwithstanding, the regions have taken steps for the information concerning payment to be again shared with all tutors, reiterating our commitment to process all payments by the first week of September,” it said.
The ministry also said the processing of payments will be completed by the third week in September, once all the required details have been submitted.
However, the ministry pointed out that the no-movement days this week will also affect the processing of the payments.
– Brittny Hutchinson
