CORAL SPRING, Trelawny — Immediate past lresident of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) Mark Malabver has mounted a spirited defence of his year in office, declaring that he had entered the presidency “like a true gladiator” and never backed down when the welfare, dignity, and interests of Jamaica’s teachers and students were at stake.

Addressing the JTA’s 62nd Annual General Conference at Ocean Coral Spring Hotel in Trelawny Monday night, Malabver said his campaign had been built around “bold and audacious leadership”, with a focus on reforming the education system and strengthening advocacy on behalf of teachers.

But he acknowledged that last October’s Hurricane Melissa had forced him to pivot.

“Just like that, the plans changed. The agenda changed. The priorities changed. We were no longer responding simply as a trade union, we were responding to a humanitarian crisis,” he said.

Malabver outlined a series of measures undertaken by the JTA following the hurricane, including an initial $35 million drawdown from the association’s investment portfolio to assist affected members.

He said more than 2,200 care packages, costing in excess of $15 million, were distributed across affected communities in western Jamaica before the association transitioned to direct cash grants to help teachers address their most urgent needs.

“Altogether, the JTA disaster relief response will cost in excess of $50 million,” he said.

Malabver also highlighted the establishment of a National Disaster Relief Oversight Committee to coordinate the association’s response, as well as assistance from international education and trade union organisations.

More than 500 laptops lost or destroyed during the hurricane were also replaced through collaboration with the Ministry of Education, while more than 35 mattresses donated by a benefactor in Guyana were distributed to affected teachers, he disclosed.

A section of the delegation in attendance at the investiture ceremony of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association 62nd Annual General Conference at Ocean Coral Spring Hotel in Trelawny Monday night. (Photo: Horace Hines)

Malabver said the response went beyond material assistance, with the JTA, in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers and through its Professional Services Committee, providing psychosocial support sessions for teachers traumatised by the disaster.

He said the hurricane reinforced the need for the JTA to defend teachers’ working conditions, arguing that such conditions extended beyond salaries and allowances.

“The environment in which a teacher is expected to work is a condition of service. The safety of that environment is a condition of service. The dignity with which a teacher is treated is a condition of service,” he said.

He insisted that teachers’ working conditions and students’ learning conditions were inseparable.

Malabver also revisited a controversy surrounding comments he made in April about reports of students being exposed to sexual activity involving people displaced by Hurricane Melissa who were sheltering in schools.

Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie had challenged him to verify the claim.

On Monday, the outgoing JTA president made it clear that he had no intention of retreating from his position.

“We must never back down from staunchly defending the welfare and safety of our students and teachers,” he said, adding that it was a hill educators should be prepared to “die” on.

Outgoing president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) Mark Malabver speaking during the investiture ceremony of the JTA’s 62nd Annual General Conference at Ocean Coral Spring Hotel in Trelawny Monday night. (Photo: Horace Hines)

Among the other achievements he highlighted was the introduction, for the first time, of races for special-needs students at the JTA’s primary school championships.

He described the move as a symbolic declaration to those children that they belong and deserve an opportunity to participate and be celebrated.

He also pointed to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the JTA and Sagicor for a critical illness plan, saying it represented an important additional layer of protection for teachers and their families.

Quoting former United States President Theodore Roosevelt’s famous “man in the arena” passage, he said he was prepared to be judged for the battles he chose to fight.

“During this conference year, like a true gladiator, I stepped into the arena. I did not enter seeking applause, comfort, or popularity. I entered to serve, to defend the welfare, dignity, and advancement of the teachers of Jamaica,” Malabver said.

He said there were times when silence and compromise would have been easier, but he chose to stand firm when he believed the cause was just.

“If history records anything about my service, let it simply say that when the teachers of Jamaica needed a voice, I spoke. When principals demanded a stand, I stood,” he said.

As he demitted office, Malabver offered one final message to his critics.

“Some of unno never liked me. Plenty of unno did hate me, but the whole a unno did have to rate me,” he said to laughter.