Fix low performance among teachers, JTA

THE EDITOR, Sir:

IT IS a known fact that the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) has always been closely supportive of the People’ s National Party (PNP) and has in the main been hostile to Jamaica Labour Party administrations, including this Andrew Holness-led administration. The JTA need to firmly understand that the Government cannot afford to pay teachers above what is currently being offered, do the appropriate thing and accept the Government’ s wage offer.

Teachers who are employed within the public education sector have been receiving excellent salaries over the past five years, and they should be extremely grateful that they are being paid fairly reasonable salaries and benefits, and should not be ungrateful for their current salary and benefits.

SCANDALOUS PERFORMANCE

What the JTA should be very concerned about is the low performance levels of many teachers who are working in publicly funded schools throughout the island. Their underper formance is scandalous, unacceptable and disgraceful.

Teachers are among the best-paid public servants, and the JTA’s action in demanding a higher wage increase for teachers demonstrate t he fact that they are highly unpatriotic, being grossly unfair, excessively greedy and care not about the fragile state of the Jamaican economy, and additionally, the fact that the Government just cannot afford to pay the teachers anymore than what is being currently offered.

The JTA should stop the political hypocrisy, accept the wage offer, and meticulously address the low performance of some of its members.

I hope that full, complete and meticulous public-sector reform will be carried out in this new unfolding fiscal year, and commend those publicsector workers who have taken up the Government’s offer of early retirement.