School closed! ‘High volume’ of Althea Scatliffe teachers absent
Teachers from yet another public school in the territory have joined in on a silent protest that started with educators from Elmore Stoutt High School’s (ESHS) junior campus on Wednesday.
The protest has now moved to Althea Scatliffe Primary School (ASPS). BVI News understands that its teachers are staging sickout that has rendered the educational facility closed for today, Friday, October 29.
In an email sent to parents and seen by our news centre, the school said: “We value the wellbeing of each student in our care and found it necessary to inform you that due to the high volume of absenteeism among our teachers, there will be no school today. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience caused.”
This is the third school campus that has been affected by this silent protest in the last three days. But unconfirmed reports are that a number of other public schools are being affected by these protests today.
In an interview with our news centre yesterday, the BVI Teacher’s Union’s (BVITU) said the government failed to meet their demands so educators at ESHS’s senior campus are continuing a sickout their colleagues at the school’s junior campus had started a day earlier.
“We have put forward several demands to the government which have not been met. Some of them had timelines on it but to date, nothing has been fulfilled,” the BVITU’s Public Relations Unit stated.
The PR team further said the $300 stipend promised by Minister Wheatley during the celebration of Teacher’s Week has not been paid out to teachers as yet. They also mentioned the BVITU has requested a written agreement from the Virgin Islands government to facilitate payment of no fewer than two past due increments.
The BVITU also cited serious air quality concerns regarding mould on the campuses. Mould cleaning ins currently being undergone on ESHS’s senior school in Pasea.
The Ministry of Education is yet to release an official statement since the protests began.
In an email sent to parents and seen by our news centre, the school said: “We value the wellbeing of each student in our care and found it necessary to inform you that due to the high volume of absenteeism among our teachers, there will be no school today. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience caused.”
This is the third school campus that has been affected by this silent protest in the last three days. But unconfirmed reports are that a number of other public schools are being affected by these protests today.
In an interview with our news centre yesterday, the BVI Teacher’s Union’s (BVITU) said the government failed to meet their demands so educators at ESHS’s senior campus are continuing a sickout their colleagues at the school’s junior campus had started a day earlier.
“We have put forward several demands to the government which have not been met. Some of them had timelines on it but to date, nothing has been fulfilled,” the BVITU’s Public Relations Unit stated.
The PR team further said the $300 stipend promised by Minister Wheatley during the celebration of Teacher’s Week has not been paid out to teachers as yet. They also mentioned the BVITU has requested a written agreement from the Virgin Islands government to facilitate payment of no fewer than two past due increments.
The BVITU also cited serious air quality concerns regarding mould on the campuses. Mould cleaning ins currently being undergone on ESHS’s senior school in Pasea.
The Ministry of Education is yet to release an official statement since the protests began.
