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BUT teachers say no resumption until new school year
Article by March 13, 2021
Sceptical of assurances on the control of the year-long COVID-19 pandemic, unionised teachers have rejected the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendation of a full-scale resumption of school, declaring there should be no return to face-to-face instruction until the new school year begins in September.
Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) president Pedro Shepherd declared that at this stage the risk of contracting the coronavirus significantly outweighs the potential benefits of returning to face-to-face classes, despite the Government’s top doctor’s projections as the country races to vaccinate thousands of Barbadians each week and the rate of infection continues to taper off.
Discussions on Term 3 set for Wednesday and Thursday – unions
Article by March 10, 2021
The two major teachers’ unions are gearing up to host emergency meetings this week on the heels of the Ministry of Education announcing that teachers will receive priority access to COVID-19 vaccines when the next doses become available.
This comes amid reports that Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George has advised that students should return to face-to-face instruction as soon as possible.
The Barbados Teachers Union (BUT) will be meeting with its members on Thursday, while the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) executive has set Wednesday as its meeting date with the general membership, ahead of an invitation to meet with Chief Education Officer Joy Adamson on Friday, March 12.
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Submitted by Paula Seale
Three years ago the BUT named a road in its housing project after former president Karen Best. There is a fence between the land of the project and the bus stop next to the hardware store in Hothersal if you want directions. Mrs. Best said her vice president Pedro Shepherd had wanted to lease the land to raise his chickens. The offer was made between 2003 when Mrs. Best become president and 2012 when she resigned.
According to Mrs. Best, he wanted to pay a dollar a year to lease the 12 acres of land. When I heard about that I started to ask myself some questions. What good to the union was one dollar a year? What sort of conscience does it take to offer to pay one dollar annually to use 12 acres of land? Land which belongs to the union you are serving as vice president? Mr. Shepherd was on YouTube on Monday. I was listening to hear about the money the ministry docked from teachers like me back in 2016. I didn’t hear anything about that.�
Some people have given the Caribbean Examination Council’s (CXC) 2021 plan a failing grade. Several student advocates also believe the health of thousands of students could be in jeopardy if the examinations are held in the summer, while another group thinks the proposed June 14 to July 16 period for Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) testing is appropriate. Following the CXC’s announcement on Monday, …