BvL and ALS urge teachers to steer clear of schools on Oct 1

The Teachers’ Association (BvL) and the Alliance of Teachers in Suriname (ALS) on Monday urged union members to steer clear of their schools on the first day of the school year, October 1. The decison to keep teachers ‘at home’ was made at Monday’s union meeting. Wilgo Valies, chairman of both unions, critized the minister of Education, Science and Culture, Lilian Ferrier, for statements made on national radio. “The minister only goes to Bakana Tori to cuss at teachers,” said the union chairman who added that the unions would keep up the fight until “things change.” Valies made it clear that the minister’s attitude will determine “if it will remain a 1-day campaign or if the campaign will continue after Monday. “We are fed up with the minister’s attitude,” said Valies who added that he wants a healthy work climate. “The way the minister wants to treat teachers is unacceptable. There are big problems in the education sector. Teachers can’t wake up and be told out of the blue that they have been reassigned. There is a crisis within the education sector,” said Valies who claimed that communication with the minister is impossible. The union chairman pointed out that the teachers want a raise.

Other important things that were put on the agenda were the delay in the payment of the revaluation with retroactive effect, the permanent education bonus that was scrapped by the minister, the reassignment policy of the minister which is aimed at reassigning teachers without valid reasons and the problems within the education sector. The removal of the head of the Exam Bureau also did not go down well. Valies pointed out that the education unions have sent several letters to the minister but that they still have not received any response.