J'can teachers take plight to British PM J'can teachers offered jobs as instructors until. LUKE WILLIAMS Thursday, July 12, 2007
LONDON, England - The plight of Jamaican teachers working in the United Kingdom without Qualified Teacher's Status (QTS) is to be placed before Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Minister of Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls.
George Galloway, the member of parliament for Bow and head of the Respect Party, told the group that he intended to pressure the Labour Party on the matter during the next meeting of Parliament.
The east London MP's pledge came one day after the government offered unqualified Overseas Trained Teachers (OTTs) a conditional one-year extension within which to gain QTS. The Government had previously set a September 2007 deadline for the teachers, who arrived in that country in 2001, to complete a first degree.
But in an apparent move to appease the teachers, the UK Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) offered them the conditional deadline extension and said they could work as instructors. The teachers would, however, be required to obtain work permits from the Home Office which would allow them to stay in the country.
"There is also an extension to deadlines for those who have had statutory leave," the DCSF said, adding that deadlines, which becomes effective on September will be extended to take account statutory maternity, adoption, paternity or parental leave taken by teachers. The teachers must gain their QTS during this conditional extension.
The DCSF, however, made it clear that employment as instructors would only be done if there are no qualified teachers to fill the positions.
"The head teachers should not simply reclassify former teachers as instructor," the department said in a statement. Yesterday, more than 100 OTTs, led by Galloway and the National Union of Teachers, marched on the offices of the DCSF in south-west London.
The group, which also included teachers from the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and several other Caribbean territories, accused the DCSF of being "insensitive" and "unfair". They were joined by support groups, Jamaican Overseas Teachers Association - UK, Facilitators for a Better Jamaica and the Black Londoners' Forum.
The march climaxed with the delivery of a petition in which the teachers demanded equality for all overseas-trained educators in light of the fact that teachers trained in Eastern Europe were not required to go through the same intensive retraining and assessment.
To gain QTS, education professionals from countries such as Poland only need to submit a letter along with proof of qualification to the General Teachers' Council.
The petition also called for an amnesty for overseas-trained teachers who have already served in the system for more than four years, but who may require more than one year in which to complete a degree.
The mood of the protest was one of determination and dignified disquiet. Banners were feisty and fierce with accusations of 'New Day Slavery' and low blows such as 'Bankruptcy or Benefits'?
Several Jamaican teachers have already lost their jobs because they failed to gain QTS since their arrival in 2001 when more than 200 Jamaican teachers were recruited by UK agencies.
The majority of teachers affected arrived with a teachers' diploma but the UK ranks this as an 'A' Level equivalent. Consequently, they were expected to complete a degree within four years of arriving in the country. Many have received permanent residence and therefore can pursue other careers. They were, however, adamant that their love for teaching was above all other professions.
One of the affected teachers, Janice Weathers, said she was forced to move to a new school because she did not get sufficient time to gain QTS.
"I feel as if I have been used. OFSTED (the DCSF's regulatory body) saw me teach and described my lesson as a good one, so to be told after four years that I am no longer a teacher made me quite resentful," she said.
