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You get what you pay for!
Reduce waste and offer higher salaries to teachers, says Opposition
BY ALICIA DUNKLEY-WILLIS Observer senior staff reporter dunkleya@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, May 23, 2013
OPPOSITION Spokesperson on Education and Human Resources Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert has urged Education Minister Ronald Thwaites to 'reduce waste in the ministry' in order to offer higher salaries to teachers.
Making her contribution to the 2013/14 Sectoral Debate at Gordon House in Kingston yesterday, the Opposition parliamentarian said, while it was recognised that a good salary was not necessarily the sole motivation for persons entering the profession, surveys have shown that unless schools offer salaries in line with other graduate salaries persons choose not to enter teaching.
DALRYMPLE-PHILIBERT… let’s have dialogue with our teachers
"But you get what you pay for; we can reduce waste in the ministry, offer more to our teachers and demand of them a higher level of performance," she said. "... We could front-load the compensation by paying our teachers good starting salaries and making subsequent small increases. It would be difficult to do, but not impossible we need to implement a policy that achieves high pay for high commitment and high performance from our teachers," she told the House.
In the meantime, Dalrymple-Philibert yesterday criticised Minister Thwaites for what she said was his "surgical cost-cutting exercise instead of a strategic approach".
She said: "There is nothing in the budget that says that the shortage of funds in the ministry is the result of teacher entitlement. Minister, it is the way you prioritise how the budget is spent that will make a difference."
According to the Opposition spokesperson, if efforts were made to improve the quality of teachers there would be no need to spend as much money on consultants, advisors and remedial education.
"... Our resources should be spent on bringing that very quality into the classrooms where it is needed. Our country calls for early and resolute action from the minister in developing strong processes for selecting and training teachers and paying them good starting compensation," Dalrymple-Philibert said.
Last week, the education minister announced that the Government could no longer afford certain study leave with pay arrangements that it has with teachers in the public sector, citing a $574-million debt owed to schools for substitute teachers. He said, too, that the cost of study and vacation leave to the Government was $2.5 billion per annum.
The Jamaica Teachers' Association has since voiced opposition to the Administration's plans to cut study leave entitlement to teachers.
Yesterday, Dalrymple-Philibert also questioned the approach by the minister.
"We ask for dialogue, let us consult with the rank-and-file of the profession before announcing the suspension of privileges, particularly those relating to teacher development," she urged.
"I am not opposed to the suspension of benefits if we cannot afford them; what I am calling for is consultation, dialogue with our teachers and an agreed approach as to how this is to be done.
"How will the $2.5 billion savings to be realised from the suspension of teachers' leave entitlements be spent? Will schools be paid the outstanding $574 million? It will be unconscionable for the minister to save money by cutting teachers' benefits and then not fulfil his obligations to schools and teachers," she said, in questioning whether the outstanding $290 million payments for tuition refunds would be repaid.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2UBBz87Nr
Reduce waste and offer higher salaries to teachers, says Opposition
BY ALICIA DUNKLEY-WILLIS Observer senior staff reporter dunkleya@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, May 23, 2013
OPPOSITION Spokesperson on Education and Human Resources Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert has urged Education Minister Ronald Thwaites to 'reduce waste in the ministry' in order to offer higher salaries to teachers.
Making her contribution to the 2013/14 Sectoral Debate at Gordon House in Kingston yesterday, the Opposition parliamentarian said, while it was recognised that a good salary was not necessarily the sole motivation for persons entering the profession, surveys have shown that unless schools offer salaries in line with other graduate salaries persons choose not to enter teaching.
DALRYMPLE-PHILIBERT… let’s have dialogue with our teachers
"But you get what you pay for; we can reduce waste in the ministry, offer more to our teachers and demand of them a higher level of performance," she said. "... We could front-load the compensation by paying our teachers good starting salaries and making subsequent small increases. It would be difficult to do, but not impossible we need to implement a policy that achieves high pay for high commitment and high performance from our teachers," she told the House.
In the meantime, Dalrymple-Philibert yesterday criticised Minister Thwaites for what she said was his "surgical cost-cutting exercise instead of a strategic approach".
She said: "There is nothing in the budget that says that the shortage of funds in the ministry is the result of teacher entitlement. Minister, it is the way you prioritise how the budget is spent that will make a difference."
According to the Opposition spokesperson, if efforts were made to improve the quality of teachers there would be no need to spend as much money on consultants, advisors and remedial education.
"... Our resources should be spent on bringing that very quality into the classrooms where it is needed. Our country calls for early and resolute action from the minister in developing strong processes for selecting and training teachers and paying them good starting compensation," Dalrymple-Philibert said.
Last week, the education minister announced that the Government could no longer afford certain study leave with pay arrangements that it has with teachers in the public sector, citing a $574-million debt owed to schools for substitute teachers. He said, too, that the cost of study and vacation leave to the Government was $2.5 billion per annum.
The Jamaica Teachers' Association has since voiced opposition to the Administration's plans to cut study leave entitlement to teachers.
Yesterday, Dalrymple-Philibert also questioned the approach by the minister.
"We ask for dialogue, let us consult with the rank-and-file of the profession before announcing the suspension of privileges, particularly those relating to teacher development," she urged.
"I am not opposed to the suspension of benefits if we cannot afford them; what I am calling for is consultation, dialogue with our teachers and an agreed approach as to how this is to be done.
"How will the $2.5 billion savings to be realised from the suspension of teachers' leave entitlements be spent? Will schools be paid the outstanding $574 million? It will be unconscionable for the minister to save money by cutting teachers' benefits and then not fulfil his obligations to schools and teachers," she said, in questioning whether the outstanding $290 million payments for tuition refunds would be repaid.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2UBBz87Nr