The education ministry has moved swiftly to resolve the plight of a young educator who was being given the runaround about retroactive salaries owed to her by a prominent Corporate Area high school despite directives issued by it from April last year.

The action came after the Jamaica Observer last Tuesday reported the plight of the teacher, a government scholarship beneficiary, who was getting half pay between 2021 and 2022 after the university where she studied froze her degree because it was owed money by the education ministry.

She was among 100 students to successfully bag the Ministry of Education/University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) annual full tuition technical and vocational education scholarships in 2017.

She was employed to the all-girls’ school in St Andrew where she taught information technology from grades 7-11 and electronic document preparation and management to grade 10.

The degree, however, was not released until February 2022 when the ministry cleared its outstanding balances with UTech. However, according to the now 26-year-old teacher, despite the ministry in April of that year indicating via letter that she was now classified as a trained teacher and as such qualified for the full salary, the school has not acted.

“Because of the fact that UTech had held on to my degree I was getting pre-trained salary, which is half pay. When the degree was released and I reached out to the bursar of the school she told me the ministry would have to send them a correspondence. MOE [Ministry of Education] sent the letter on April 11 with the retroactive sums I should be paid. I am still yet to receive that money,” the teacher had told the Observer.

The letter from the ministry, dated April 11, 2024, addressed to the chair of the school board and copied to the principal and the bursar, stated: “Dear Sir/Madam, please be advised that having obtained a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Technology, Jamaica, Miss [name withheld] is now classified as a trained teacher and should be paid salary per annum as follows: 2022/02/28 $1,411,420.00 (and) 2022/04/01 to 2022/08/31 $2,520,078.00.”

Last Friday, the education ministry, in a statement issued to the media following its investigation into the teacher’s claims, said, “The school has now completed their internal processes, enabling the commencement of the payment process. This action aligns with the ministry’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that all teachers are paid promptly and in accordance with their classifications.”

According to the ministry, full implementation of the programme to onboard bursar-paid schools to the Government’s MyHR Plus system, which is designed to facilitate the timely payment of its approximately 40,000 staff across schools and the ministry, should resolve issues such as the one faced by the teacher and streamline payment processes moving forward.

In 2024, the ministry began onboarding bursar-paid schools to the MyHR Plus system. Currently, approximately 28,000 staff are being paid via the MyHR Plus system and the onboarding continues the ministry said Friday.

In the meantime, permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Kasan Troupe, said, “The ministry understands the inconvenience that this issue has caused and remain unwavering in our commitment to rectify the challenges to ensure timely and accurate salary payments for all educators and support staff. We encourage teachers to raise these and any other issue at the regional level.

”When we are made aware of these matters, we are able to resolve them as quickly as possible. We are steadfast in supporting our educators and ensuring that the necessary support is provided to sustain the success of the education system.”

She said the ministry will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure the matter is resolved as swiftly as possible.

Regarding claims of delay due to unpaid scholarships mentioned in the article, Dr Troupe affirmed that, “The ministry has a long-standing arrangement with public higher education institutions, where students benefiting from ministry scholarships, grants, or JAMVAT are not penalised for any funding-related matter once they maintain their GPA and other requirements of the scholarship.”

The ministry further said it is committed to maintaining a transparent, efficient, and supportive education system and will continue to address concerns proactively and provide the necessary support to ensure the ongoing growth, success, and transformation of the education sector.