The Board of Management at Kingston High School is set to withdraw termination letters it had issued to a number of teachers at the institution following concerns raised that the board did not demonstrate proper due diligence in the separation process and did not adequately communicate the decision to end their employment.

Board Chairman Carlton Samuels says the move follows last Wednesday’s meeting between board members and officials from the Ministry of Education to whom the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) had filed a complaint over the matter.

Samuels clarified that 12 teachers had been issued termination letters based on assessments of their performances, with one having since resigned.

READ: ‘Deeply troubling’: JTA alarmed as 15 Kingston High teachers get termination letters

However, he said the board missed the required notice period for the separation by about two days, resulting in the move to retract the letters.

“The regulations say that when a teacher is considered ineffective or not up to scratch, you must show that they have been assessed and give them at least a month’s notice that they will be terminated. Quite frankly, we missed the notice period by about two days,” he said, adding that the notice delay was due to difficulties accessing the teachers’ records.

One of the termination letters seen by Observer Online was dated October 8, 2026 and stated that the teacher’s employment would end effective October 31, 2026.

According to the Education Act Regulations 1980, where the board intends to terminate the employment of any teacher in that institution other than a teacher employed on a provisional, temporary or acting basis for more than one year, disciplinary action ought to be taken against the teacher and the matter referred to the board’s personnel committee for consideration pursuant to regulation 85.

According to the Act, the personnel committee shall report in writing to the board not later than 14 days after the date of the enquiry whether the allegations against the teacher have not been proved or that the charges against the teacher have been proved and may recommend.

The board shall, within 14 days after it has received the report of the personnel committee, give written notice containing details of its decision to the minister of education and the teacher, the Act further states.

It added that the employment of a teacher who holds a temporary or acting appointment may be terminated by one month’s notice given by either the teacher or the board; where the employment is terminated the board should state the reason for the termination, or by payment to the teacher of a sum equal to one month’s salary in lieu of notice by the board and such payment shall be accompanied by a statement by the board of the reasons for the termination.

The Act further states, the termination of temporary teachers in any other case should be by three months’ notice given by either the teacher or the board or by the payment to the teacher of a board.

Observer Online understands the teachers also raised concerns that they were not aware of their performance records, as they were not assessed on a term basis.

“The teachers claim that they were not properly appraised. They did not have the term appraisals as required so they did not know of their condition or situation,” Samuels said.

According to Samuels, the board relied on a summative appraisal of teachers for the 2025-2026 academic year, which suggested that some teachers’ performance had deteriorated rather than improved, despite commitments from the school administration that the teachers would be monitored and assessed.

The appraisal seen by Observer Online showed that 45 of 49 classroom teachers were appraised for the academic year. The others were reportedly on leave. The report showed that 30 teachers were rated unsatisfactory in sharpening their professional skills, 24 in subject knowledge, 22 in interacting with parents and community and 20 in their knowledge of teaching methods.

Samuels also raised concerns about teachers’ attendance and punctuality. A separate attendance summary covering September 2025 to June 2026 recorded 689 absences, 938 instances of lateness and 241 sick incidents.

Samuels said the board had given teachers another opportunity in the previous year to improve their performance.

“We have a situation where we were giving forbearance to teachers who were coming over from the year before struggling in terms of appraisal, in terms of their attendance and all of the other issues that teachers should not be hired for,” he added.

Likewise, Samuels noted that some teachers were university graduates but had not completed teacher training and were employed on the condition that they would obtain the necessary qualifications.

“There were teachers that we actually did two separate renewals for them to get themselves situated, and that includes people that were not qualified etc. We did the wrong thing and we shouldn’t have kept them.

“We continued with the hope that whatever impediment they had been considered for permanent employment would have been fixed and we did it a couple of times on a request of the administration to give them an opportunity to sort themselves out. The board has facilitated a lot of what you see happen by virtue of giving by exercising forbearance,” he added.

The board chairman said the concerns raised about teacher performance are informed by the school’s academic outcomes, noting that 80 per cent of students who enter the institution read below the grade four level.

He said improving students’ academic performance requires structured teaching, lesson plans tailored to the ability of students and teachers delivering the required contact hours.

“The board is committed that we are going to add the value to them, they’re not going to leave without having something to show for leaving,” he said.

Samuels said the board intends to ensure the teachers are assessed every term in keeping with the relevant regulations and if the concerns persist, the board will use the appropriate disciplinary procedures.