The Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) has given to Ministry of Education until January 1, 2015 to fix the issues at the Parkinson Memorial and Alma Parris Secondary schools.
BUT President Pedro Shepherd made the disclosure to Barbados TODAY this morning following a meeting with the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Cecil Humphrey and 11 teachers of Alma Parris.
Shepherd reiterated that the teachers at that institution, like their colleagues at Parkinson, were fed up with the management style of the principal.
He said the Alma Parris educators were also concerned and frustrated about a lack of discipline among students.
BUT President Pedro Shepherd
Nevertheless, Shepherd said now that the Ministry had been apprised of the situation, he expects it would carry out its own investigations and, as a result, come up with satisfactory solutions.
“As a result of having a meeting, the Ministry should be even more clear as to the status of the environment that exists at Alma Parris school and they are aware that the union does not want to meet again on Alma Parris school, but wants to have some resolution brought to the situation, giving the school the opportunity to go back to its original mandate and that is of providing alternative secondary education,” he said.
The BUT boss said while the future of the St Peter institution was not discussed at the closed-door meeting, the union believed the Ministry needed to take a very deep and thorough look at the future of the school.
Shepherd was adamant that the intake at Alma Parris was in need of review since the institution currently had a role of 165 students, which he said placed undue pressure on the facility that was not built to accommodate such a large number.
“The facilities at the school cannot accommodate 165 students who are challenged in the way that they are challenged, most of them challenged academically.
“In the original mandate for the school, they were supposed to provide alternative secondary education for those who gained 30 or less at the Common Entrance Examination, but now they are taking students who come from the annexes,” Shepherd said.
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