Preparing trainee teachers for the education system
It may seem ironic that although the nature of the teaching profession demands teachers engage in reflection and research, many of the nation’s educators are unaware of their rights and, to a lesser extent, their responsibilities. However, is this totally their fault?
Unlike many other degree programmes, pre-service teachers do not have a course dedicated to understanding the Education Act and the rudiments of the education system. Students who pursue majors in business administration or human resources, for example, have a much better understanding of labour laws and the protocols to observe should there be any infraction.
Undeniably, in this technological era, there is greater access to information — it is at our fingertips. Notwithstanding, we are cognisant that many of these Acts, laws, and policies are not easily understood, especially as they have been written in a Shakespearean-type English. Consequently, our trainee teachers, as well as some of our seasoned teachers, need this information to be communicated to them in a language that they can understand.
Should a survey be conducted among the thousands of teachers in the system the majority of them would not be competent on the matter of their rights and responsibilities. We cannot continue to graduate students and send them out into a system of which they are completely oblivious. The teachers’ colleges of Jamaica and the Joint Board of Teacher Education, in conjunction with the Jamaica Teachers’ Association and any other relevant entity, should ensure that a course is designed and implemented to better prepare trainee teachers for the profession.
Too often our freshly recruited graduates are left shocked, especially regarding the compensation package. One of the reasons for this is that discussing salary remains a taboo topic for many people. Once again, this information is accessible somewhere, but more transparency is needed. Gross salary does not mean much to most people; instead, they want to know what the possible monthly net salary will be. After all, it is the disposal income that guides them in their budgeting.
A lot more work needs to be done regarding the time frame in which these teachers leave teachers’ college, obtain their degrees in hand, and start getting their retroactive salary. The current practice is that these trainee teachers complete their studies around June or July of the academic year, graduation is held in November, and the degrees are distributed around February or March of the following year. However, could we not implement a system, such as that which exists in other countries, where an official document is given at the end of one’s programme as proof that the programme has been successfully completed? This document would basically carry the same weight as the degree and would give access to employment and the correct salary package until the official degree is ready.
It is unacceptable that many teachers still have to wait months, and sometimes years, to receive their correct salaries and retroactive monies. One of the reasons for this is that many bursars deliberately refuse to carry out their duties or drag their feet in communicating the necessary documents to the Ministry of Education’s offices. This, invariably, delays the process.
Additionally, several of these administrators and personnel are dishonest. Whenever teachers enquire about the advancement of their files, they fabricate all kinds of stories, and some of the workers at the regional offices are friends with school administrators. Therefore, when a teacher goes to his or her regional office to make a complaint, that complaint and the teacher’s name is reported to the principal of the school, who will seek to spite or reprimand the teacher by denying them leave, promotions, etcetera.
Another issue that teachers need to understand concerns their permanent appointment. Many administrators have been guilty of withholding permanency from some of their teachers for whatever reason. There are teachers who have been working for up to five years without being appointed to a permanent position and is only made aware of this situation when they apply for vacation, study, or maternity leave. Can you imagine their disappointment when they learn of this injustice?
Who is auditing our schools? It cannot be that school administrators are given the authority to do as they please. There are too many stories of teachers, and even lecturers, who are not paid on time or in full, simply because their management team decided to allocate their salaries to other projects or pay other colleagues who have been promoted because of friendship.
Lastly, there needs to be some further contextualisation to the clause of the Education Act that requires teachers to carry out “any additional” function that their principals may ask of them. Where do we draw the line? Several teachers are given subject areas to teach which are not sanctioned by their degrees. For others, it ranges from working on the weekends and during the holidays to organising all sorts of events. Once again, it is a challenge for teachers to reject certain instructions from their superiors; otherwise, they will be considered uncooperative, and this will reflect poorly on their appraisal.
The system needs to do more to protect our teachers. Many of them have become frustrated with the operations at their schools, but have been going with the flow. But what can they do when there are administrators who do not listen to their staff? It has even reached a stage at which, due to demoralisation, colleagues no longer support each other and the school. Can we address these issues ahead of the new academic year?
Oneil Madden is a PhD candidate in didactics and linguistics at the Université Clermont Auvergne, France, and president of the Association of Jamaican Nationals in France (JAMINFRANCE). Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or oneil.madden@uca.fr.