Cabinet wants ‘make up’ time for public school students

The Cabinet spent much time on Wednesday reviewing the recent strike by public school teachers and the effect the industrial action has had on the instruction time for students in the classroom.

First, it was noted that the demand for outstanding allowances—the basis upon which the strike was announced—related only to those teachers at the Secondary and other higher levels; yet, all Primary Schools and their teachers also sat idly, causing the primary students to be deprived of contact time.

“The Cabinet repeated its earlier assertion that the strike was disproportionate to the number of teachers owed, and the amounts due. The nobility of the teaching profession was completely lost when students remained without teaching contact for six days unnecessarily. The Cabinet also noted that cheques for the payment of the allowances were already prepared for distribution to the teachers; the publication of the names on the cheques became a necessary exercise to ensure that those persons knew that the cheques were awaiting pick-up,” Cabinet sources declared.

Consequently, the Cabinet has expressed the view that the students who were denied the days of instruction ought to be compensated by additional teaching time before the end of the term.

In related developments, the House of Representatives will convene on Thursday, (today), with many important items are on the legislative agenda for the parliamentarians to consider.

“One of the first items will be “Questions to the Prime Minister”. It is expected that the Opposition will pose many questions about the strike conducted by teachers whose union compelled the professionals to remain unproductive for six school days,” the Cabinet sources indicated.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet has agreed to proceed to an upgrade of the Simon Bolivar Pre-School after decades of successful operation in the Sutherlands Community.

Nearly One Hundred Thousand EC Dollars ($100,000.00) will be spent to upgrade the buildings, their interior and furniture, making the school more attractive for parents and students.

It was revealed that the Embassy of Venezuela, whose gift it was in the first place, will also contribute to the upgrade.