Sanity and good policy prevails

[Don1]

Gov't demands increased performance in exchange for teachers' $15B pay packet

Tuesday, October 28, 2008


GOVERNMENT says it will be demanding a higher level of performance from the island's over 20,000 public school teachers in return for the new $15 billion pay packet to be implemented in December.

This was stated by both Education Minister, Andrew Holness, and Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, as they commented on the agreement which was signed at the finance ministry, yesterday.


Finance Minister Audley Shaw (2nd left) hands over the new wage and benefits agreement to JTA president Doran Dixon (2nd right) at the finance ministry, Kingston yesterday. Sharing in the moment are Minister without portfolio in the finance ministry, Senator Dwight Nelson (left) and Education Minister Andrew Holness. (Photo: Karl McLarty)

"The teachers are being paid at a higher scale and therefore we expect from our teachers a higher level of performance," Holness said.
"In other words, the performance of the teachers will now be tied to the results of the students and the results of the students will now be tied to the performance of the teachers," Holness warned.

Shaw said that the agreement was an expensive one and was accepted by the Government because it felt that education must be priority in the country's development.

He said that the increase was a "good, healthy and decent start" to the process of a renewed partnership between the Government and the teachers in transforming the education system. "Let us treat it as partnership going forward. Let us understand that there are roles and responsibilities that must be respected, and the citizens of Jamaica are expecting from this agreement today, [an agreement for] performance" he said.

Responding to the ministers, Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) president Doran Dixon, said that the association was committed to the process of education transformation and was working in full partnership with the ministry. However, he said that it was an expensive process.
"Proper education cannot be done on the cheap. If we attempt to do it, we are going to be throwing good money after a bad situation and we at the JTA want to think that our teachers are worth every single, red cent of the money that is invested in them," he said.
He said that the teachers are looking forward to the implementation of the agreement in December.

Minister without portfolio in the ministry, Senator Dwight Nelson, who chaired the function, said that in addition to pay, there were a number of increases in fringe benefits. He said that payment for training teachers assigned to basic schools, and special duty allowances for extra curricular activities, including at the national level, and specialist teaching like music and physical education, were also addressed in the agreement.

[Assasin]

As I said there is hope. That plus getting 10,000 borderline kids off the street and into some trade institution if given the right trade can be a cause for hope.

[Don1]

As I said there is hope. That plus getting 10,000 borderline kids off the street and into some trade institution if given the right trade can be a cause for hope.

There's always hope my friend.... to echo John McCain

Those moves are positive (assuming the at risk youth program moves beyond the mere political statement stage and is actually funded and implemented).... but small steps in the right direction.

However nothing short of what I had outlined a couple months ago in terms of developing our human capital will make a serious and sustained impact on our problems.
Absent that sort of coordinated approach ... these things are mere band aids.

Interesting that Shaw is now praising this initiatve when a few days ago he was cursing it and had some people echoing that nonsense.

What a difference a few days make.

[Lazie]

There's always hope my friend.... to echo John McCain

Those moves are positive (assuming the at risk youth program moves beyond the mere political statement stage and is actually funded and implemented).... but small steps in the right direction.

However nothing short of what I had outlined a couple months ago in terms of developing our human capital will make a serious and sustained impact on our problems.
Absent that sort of coordinated approach ... these things are mere band aids.

Interesting that Shaw is now praising this initiatve when a few days ago he was cursing it and had some people echoing that nonsense.

What a difference a few days make.

Sometimes one must quit while they're ahead. Did Shaw curse the idea or was he saying that it wasn't approved by Cabinet? Auuugggh boy!

[Don1]

Sometimes one must quit while they're ahead. Did Shaw curse the idea or was he saying that it wasn't approved by Cabinet? Auuugggh boy!

That claim by Shaw has been refuted.

Anyway the point is now moot.... after compaining about the expenditure he has a few days later now flip flopped into a very supportive posture... good for him and the country.

Now that I am demonstrably and irrefutably ahead... I WILL quit.

Is Shaw well enough for this portfolio? He seems quite erratic. First Derrick Smith then Shaw takes ill? What a gwaan?? Pressure??

[Willi]

Can you respost that outline...or give a link to it. I missed it.

[Lazie]

That claim by Shaw has been refuted.

Anyway the point is now moot.... after compaining about the expenditure he has a few days later now flip flopped into a very supportive posture... good for him and the country.

Now that I am demonstrably and irrefutably ahead... I WILL quit.

Is Shaw well enough for this portfolio? He seems quite erratic. First Derrick Smith then Shaw takes ill? What a gwaan?? Pressure??

Refuted by whom? Portia? Is this breddah fi real? You are aware this was agreed to before the Minister before he made the statement last week? He had to give the go ahead for the study to be done before anything could happen ... suh get it right.

[Don1]

Refuted by whom? Portia? Is this breddah fi real? You are aware this was agreed to before the Minister before he made the statement last week? He had to give the go ahead for the study to be done before anything could happen ... suh get it right.

Davies has asserted that the Cabinet he was a part of had in fact approved the deal.
However this is a moot point since Shaw & the present GOJ are now supportive of the policy.


The fact remains that last week Shaw appeared very upset by the financial commitment and was blaming Davies.

But this week the tune is changed:

Shaw said that the agreement was an expensive one and was accepted by the Government because it felt that education must be priority in the country's development.
He said that the increase was a "good, healthy and decent start" to the process of a renewed partnership between the Government and the teachers in transforming the education system.

That's erratic behaviour that even John McCain would be proud of.

I'm glad he's come around... teachers must be valued and appropriately compensated.

[Don1]

Can you respost that outline...or give a link to it. I missed it.

Our education policy is the key to our development so it's something I'm passionate about.

I found the post but don't know how to post a proper link to it.

My 7/31 post "Golding Misses the boat" has the discussion. If you want more details of that lively discussion you'll have to find the original post on 7/31.

I copied just the initial statement below:



Dixon to head new PetroCaribe team
published: Thursday | July 31, 2008


Dr Jean Dixon
A technical team headed by Dr Jean Dixon is to assess and recommend areas in which PetroCaribe funds can be invested to spur national development.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding has earmarked energy and agriculture among the sectors to be reviewed for investment. Dixon's team is also to consider infrastructure projects that have a social impact.
"In relation to the agricultural projects, the team has been instructed to consider new [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]technologies[/color][/COLOR] and to set up food processing facilities to ensure the speedy and efficient distribution of food production," said a release from the Office of the Prime Minister.
The team to do the review will be drafted from the ministries of Energy and Finance, Planning Institute of Jamaica and the Petroleum [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Corporation[/color][/COLOR] of Jamaica.
Its members will also assess the mode to be used for repayment of the PetroCaribe [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]loan[/color][/COLOR].
Specially created vehicle
Under the arrangement with Venezuela, Jamaica can retain 60 per cent of its oil bill for 25 years, which it holds under a specially created vehicle, the PetroCaribe Development Fund, and repay at one to two per cent interest.
But the agreement allows for repayment other than cash to include commodities, such as bananas and sugar, as well as services.
Dixon's team will determine at repayment which is the better option.
In the meantime, the funds accrued can be used to finance development projects
Since its inception, the PetroCaribe Development Fund, which operates from the Ministry of Finance, has made distributions to Air Jamaica, the finance ministry for [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]debt[/color][/COLOR] refinancing, the Ministry of Housing, Urban Development Corporation, Port Authority, Sugar Company of Jamaica, Airports Authority, Wallenford Coffee and Jamaica Urban Transit Company. The new technical team is to be constituted and its terms of reference signed off on by Golding within three weeks, the OPM said.



Without vision... our people will continue to perish.

Jamaica has a huge windfall of cheap money through Petro Caribe... and chooses to invest it primarily on physical capital as opposed to building social capital..... typical of our bankrupt, shortsighted policymakers and upended policies.

Our problems and chief roadblocks to development are based on poor social capital first and poor infrastructure a distant second... even the blind should be able to see that.

This money should primarily be used in a broadbased program to fund a revolution in our education and vocational training systems at all levels over the next 10 years (as well as improving squatter/slum communities) ... laying the groundwork for better social relations and a knowledge based service economy... which will itself generate the wealth to build the physical infrastructure we also do need.


This is another and particularly blatant (because this is readily available and dirt cheap money) disregard of putting people first in development.

We continue to have leaders from both sides of the divide, with priorities that are backward.... and so we cannot progress substantially.

[Lazie]

Yuh fail to see the difference. One is running the affairs of the country in a fiscally responsible manner. Targets have been set that they are trying to meet.

The other ran it like a sky juice stand ... and all now unuh nuh realize the hole it has put us it. Gwaan shake yuh pom pom Don!.

[Don1]

Yuh fail to see the difference. One is running the affairs of the country in a fiscally responsible manner. Targets have been set that they are trying to meet.

The other ran it like a sky juice stand ... and all now unuh nuh realize the hole it has put us it. Gwaan shake yuh pom pom Don!.

You are entitled to your opinions ... however I don't care about comparing the two politicians.

I care that good policy is promoted for education... I'll leave the comparisons to people like you.

However I do enjoy pointing out politician's hypocrisy.

[Lazie]

You are silly... I don't care about comparing the two politicians.

I care that good policy is promoted for education... I'll leave the comparisons to people like you.

However I do enjoy pointing out politician's hypocrisy.

No son, look in the mirror for the silly one. If you nuh understand the concept of being fiscally responsible then ... why should we be surprised.

You seem to be nit picking at what is taking place. As mi say ... shake yuh pom poms ... What yuh need to do is go back and read what Shaw said, instead of playing dandy shandy

[Don1]

No son, look in the mirror for the silly one. If you nuh understand the concept of being fiscally responsible then ... why should we be surprised.

You seem to be nit picking at what is taking place. As mi say ... shake yuh pom poms ... What yuh need to do is go back and read what Shaw said, instead of playing dandy shandy

You are so McCain like with your catch phrases ... dandy shandy, pom poms etc.... very cute.

Just accept that the guy flip flopped... it's obvious. One week this the next week that.

The point here is not fiscal responsibility.. it's political gamesmanship on display not statesmanship... but the gullible will be confused.

If he believed the outlay was irresponsible why support it now a week later??

Try to lose those rose coloured lenses of yours.

[Lazie]

You are so McCain like with your catch phrases ... dandy shandy, pom poms etc.... very cute.

Just accept that the guy flip flopped... it's obvious. One week this the next week that.

The point here is not fiscal responsibility.. it's political gamesmanship on display not statesmanship... but the gullible will be confused.

If he believed the outlay was irresponsible why support it now a week later??

Try to lose those rose coloured lenses of yours.

As mi say ... read the original article and you'll see where you're WRONG!! Oh ... wait ... yuh nuh need fi read the papers to know whats happening. No wonder.

[Don1]

As mi say ... read the original article and you'll see where you're WRONG!! Oh ... wait ... yuh nuh need fi read the papers to know whats happening. No wonder.

The important thing here is really not what Shaw thinks or said in the recent past... it's the fact that he now supports what I consider the correct decision on this issue.... which is greater support for the education sector.

For that he has my support.