School closed! ‘High volume’ of Althea Scatliffe teachers absent
Teachers from yet another public school in the territory have joined in on a silent protest that started with educators from Elmore Stoutt High School’s (ESHS) junior campus on Wednesday.
The protest has now moved to Althea Scatliffe Primary School (ASPS). BVI News understands that its teachers are staging sickout that has rendered the educational facility closed for today, Friday, October 29.
In an email sent to parents and seen by our news centre, the school said: “We value the wellbeing of each student in our care and found it necessary to inform you that due to the high volume of absenteeism among our teachers, there will be no school today. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience caused.”
This is the third school campus that has been affected by this silent protest in the last three days. But unconfirmed reports are that a number of other public schools are being affected by these protests today.
In an interview with our news centre yesterday, the BVI Teacher’s Union’s (BVITU) said the government failed to meet their demands so educators at ESHS’s senior campus are continuing a sickout their colleagues at the school’s junior campus had started a day earlier.
“We have put forward several demands to the government which have not been met. Some of them had timelines on it but to date, nothing has been fulfilled,” the BVITU’s Public Relations Unit stated.
The PR team further said the $300 stipend promised by Minister Wheatley during the celebration of Teacher’s Week has not been paid out to teachers as yet. They also mentioned the BVITU has requested a written agreement from the Virgin Islands government to facilitate payment of no fewer than two past due increments.
The BVITU also cited serious air quality concerns regarding mould on the campuses. Mould cleaning ins currently being undergone on ESHS’s senior school in Pasea.
The Ministry of Education is yet to release an official statement since the protests began.
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the government has kicked the can down the road long enough, they have money for raises and wig boy legal bills but not for students and teachers, disgraceful
How long can this be breaking news before it becomes old news?
They are not really sick but THEY ARE SICK OF THE VIP
I guess that makes the VIP government worse than covid for not even covid could take out all the teachers in the school liked that. oops
By the way,how many consecutive sick days are public servants allowed before a medical certificate is required? The Deputy Governor’s Office hould remind teachers about that. When teachers exceed the two day allowance who will pay for the days? Will the money be deducted from their salary? Is this whole move of sick out legal anyway? Yes, they have issues but many other factors should be considered.
As far as I learned it’s most or all of the public primary schools. Look Tory!!!
What will “Honorable (?!?) SoWhatsGoingOn?” do now? Will the CEO finally step up and do something, anything at all, that isn’t just for the benefit of her church/school? No man, they will just continue to abuse our educators and abuse our children because these people do not care at all for the Beautiful Virgin Islands.
I hear that the teachers of the school in the name of his great grandfather also went on strike. What a story!!
Those that turned up to work should be awarded govt should raised those ones salary. Those are the ones who cared for the kids thats why they showed to to work. The others just looking out for themselves and not the kids. When they were home and getting paid the govt should have let them go and clean up their classroom themselves.
Note the first and perhaps prime grievance that is mentioned. Read between the lines. Do ministers make payments. They create policies and give directions. Who takes them to fulfillment? Public servants do. How many y instructions are buried under files because the public servants do not agree with the mission? See Jost Van Dyke? Ask who deferred payment so the works could not go ahead? Not the ministers for sure.
Call a Spade a Spade. The Minister of Education, The Chief Education Officer, The Premier, The Governor. These are who should directly been intervening in the Education System. We all know other Members of the Cabinet cannot interfere with those in charge of certain assigned Portfolios. This is a crying shame and disgrace.
Note the first and perhaps prime grievance that is mentioned. Read between the lines. Do ministers make payments. They create policies and give directions. Who takes them to fulfillment? Public servants do. How many y instructions are buried under files because the public servants do not agree with the mission? See Jost Van Dyke? Ask who deferred payment so the works could not go ahead? Not the ministers for sure.
I am late with this but my child also had to stay home on Friday because most teachers were out. My child does not attend ASPS. So this tells me that other schools were in on it.