BUT boss: Govt had no option but to cancel teacher transfers
Government had no legal option other than to cancel requested teacher transfers, according to Bermuda Union of Teachers secretary general Mike Charles.Mr Charles conceded that the consultation requirement, put in place by a Supreme Court order one year ago, could give PTAs too much power over teachers’ decisions.Because of last year’s ruling by Chief Justice Ian Kawaley in the wake of protests over involuntary transfers, the Ministry of Education was required to discuss relocations with PTAs.Following complaints in June over the latest round of transfers, the Ministry had taken legal advice and frozen all transfers, the union head told The Royal Gazette.In the meantime, the BUT has fielded complaints from teachers unhappy that their voluntary transfers were recalled earlier this summer.Mr Charles said the Ministry was “working on something so this will not happen again — but this is small comfort for the teachers who are unhappy right now”.“Some are happy and some are unhappy,” he explained.“Those who didn’t want to be transferred have retained their positions, and those who wanted their transfers are decrying it. It’s unfortunate but as it stands now, there is not very much that we can do as a union.“The Minister made a decision based on legal counsel. They have been advised that in order to make any transfers, there must be consultation. Since there was not any before these, they decided they would rescind all transfers. I don’t think the Chief Justice, in his ruling, differentiated between involuntary and voluntary transfers. Any transfer necessitates dialogue. This is the situation that the Ministry find themselves in.”Added Mr Charles: “If this continues, it means the PTA could stand in the way of teachers who want to move from one school to another — and PTAs are not in full possession of information about teachers’ abilities to teach. It ends up like a beauty contest as to whether they like the teacher or not. I don’t think the Ministry or the teachers themselves should allow that. Bear in mind that teachers are part of the PTAs. Hopefully the teachers themselves who are on the PTAs will make that point.”The remarks followed complaints to this newspaper from an educator upset by the delivery of the news in “a generic letter”.Mr Charles said others had voiced discontent.“We did make that point to the Minister, that it could have been better handled in cases where people were unhappy about getting a letter saying all transfers were rescinded without any explanation,” he said. “One teacher hadn’t even received a letter, just heard about it. That was for an involuntary transfer and the teacher was happy that it was cancelled. I think the Minister could have made a point of getting these people together and explaining their reasoning. They still might not be happy, but they would understand better.”The decision, announced in July, came after school had closed for the summer.“What I think happened was everything came down to the last minute,” he said. “The Ministry realised with advice from their counsel that to really go back to court over this would have been futile.”Last year’s introduction of large-scale transfers ruffled feathers, he said, as there had been “very few — it was the first year in a long time”.Mr Charles added: “But I always remind people when the issue of involuntary transfer comes up that they have signed a letter of employment. The Permanent Secretary has the right to transfer you.”
Government must resolve its unpopular teacher transfer policy, Shadow Education Minister Walton Brown yesterday charged, saying continued complaints undermine the system.
“Every time there are issues with transfers — particularly when they spill out into the public domain — the steady improvement in public confidence in public education suffers,” Mr Brown said.
The Ministry revoked its latest round of transfers, due to be implemented in September, following complaints from parent-teacher associations at two primary schools.
But requested transfers were also rescinded, prompting the Progressive Labour Party MP to call for “the creation of a framework that has buy-in from the Ministry, teachers and parents”.
“What we have seen on an annual basis is far too much dispute over a matter that should be fairly routine,” Mr Brown said.
Mr Brown said he'd extended “a hand of cooperation” to Education Minister Nalton Brangman to assist with a mutually acceptable policy.
He acknowledged that teacher transfers had been in improving the Island's public education system.
However, the Shadow Minister added that “some teachers seek school transfer for a wide range of reasons — and parents have views which should be acknowledged and respected when it comes to the education of their children”.
Mr Brangman today expressed his thanks to Mr Brown for his offer to help.
“I am thankful to the Opposition Member for his offer of assistance," he said. "It is good to see that the Opposition are seeking to be supportive instead of just opposing because of the nature of our politics. Both he and I can agree that matters related to our children are above political differences.
“However, I can advise Mr Brown and the public that the Ministry of Education is presently engaged in a process of setting out proposals to resolve the issue of teacher transfers and parental involvement in schools.
“It is our intent to engage our stakeholders - principals, teachers, PTAs and the broader community - in a consultative process on the matter of parental involvement in schools shortly after school reconvenes in September. I certainly welcome Mr Brown's input and that of the entire community once we bring forward our proposals on the matter.”
