This is one of the busiest times in a teacher’s life as many are marking and submitting school-based assessment and internal assessment grades for students sitting Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) in the upcoming exams in a few weeks.

I, too, am marking. The deadline is near and we are trying to meet it. Students who have wasted the entire two years that they should have been working on their projects are, at this last minute, begging us to allow them to make corrections so they can score a better grade. We had given “final deadlines” so many times but had been ignored. Now students, and parents, expect teachers to give up their sleep and family time as a result of their procrastination!

The truth is many of us do that every year and do it gladly. Our desire is for our charges to get the best possible score on their projects so they get the passes of which parents are so proud.

Yet, today, teachers are crying. “Teachers are always crying,” one may say. But after signing a memorandum of understanding recently, which basically freezes teachers’ salaries for the next five years, you would have expected teachers to be rejoicing! After all, the public was told that teachers will get retroactive payments and that there is $12 billion in the budget allocated to pay teachers.

Teachers are crying this morning because they are yet to be paid. They are begging the Government and the Ministry of Finance to hold the retro and pay them their regular salaries so that they can pay bills and buy food.

Now this is a different song from last week when everyone was caught up by the prospect of increased salaries. Today, they are asking the Government to hold on to the increase and just give them the little they had!

The media has shared so many bulletins from the Ministry of Education telling teachers when they would be paid. One said “Thursday”. Thursday gone! The latest said, “At the earliest time.” The earliest time can be September 2023.

It is not expected that teachers will see their salaries on Mondays. I was once told by a Region 1 director at the education ministry’s head office that, “The Ministry of Education operates under policies.” In my many moons in the system, the policy has been that the ministry does not pay teachers on Fridays and Mondays. Payments are on the 25th of the month and if that date falls on a Friday or a Monday, payments are made the day before or after. It will be interesting to see if the ministry operates on policies or if operation is selective to certain policies.

So teachers are crying.

All deductions for loans and insurance policies will be later than usual this month and like always, it will not be the teachers’ fault, but they will be charged the late fees and interests incurred. The “increased” salary the Government boasts of giving teachers and that “retro” will go towards those companies. What will teachers get?

For once, will the Government and by extension the ministries of finance and education take responsibility? Did the Government enter an agreement with utility companies to charge late fees of $250 if payments are made late? Was it explained to the public that, that money was charged once payment was made after the 27th of the month, even if the bill is not due? Can a directive be given that no late fee charges be foisted on teachers this month, in fact, on any public sector workers affected by the Government’s late payment of salaries?

This is a crucial time in the education system, and there are many actions that could be taken, but teachers are just crying, “Keep your retro for now and give us our monthly salaries so that we are able to go to work.”

Yesterday was a sad day. One of our colleagues died waiting on a promised salary and retro that she will never be able to collect. How many more will meet the same fate?

The teaching fraternity salutes our deceased colleague who lost her battle with sickness.

lindsay.natesha2@gmail.com