Bursars demand answers from Education Ministry regarding their future

 

The Bursars Association of Jamaica is demanding answers from Education Minister Fayval Williams about the future of its members in the school system in the wake of a decision by the ministry to change the payment process for teachers.

 

On Wednesday, Mrs Williams said the government will be moving away from teachers being paid by bursars and have educators receive their salaries directly from the ministry.

 

But Industrial Relations Officer at the Association Portia Holness has said the members - who process salaries for teachers, administrative and ancillary staff at bursar-paid schools - were taken by surprise by the ministry's decision.

 

Ms Holness said the decision is causing jitters among the more than 400 bursars islandwide, who are now worried they might be removed from schools since the ministry's proposal will take away their core function. 

 

The Education Minister had said the decision will alleviate the issue of late or missed salary payments, which some teachers often experience.

 

However, speaking Thursday on Radio Jamaica's current affairs programme Beyond the Headlines, Ms Holness argued that the delays are often times caused by the Education Ministry.

 

Even when the delays are the fault of the ministry, she explained that school administrators are the ones hauled before the courts for unpaid statutory deductions, and if they fail to appear, a warrant is issued for their arrest. 

 

"The statutory bodies will tell you that they can't call the school, they can't call the ministry because they only account for a name. So as the responsible accounting officer, the principal's name would be on the document and the bursars name would be there, and that document comes in our name...sometimes with our personal address and TRN number, and so we are summoned to go to court and suffer these charges," she revealed.  

 

William Mcleod, Chairman of Camperdown High School, believes that administrators at bursar-paid schools will suffer negative consequences as a result of the Ministry of Education's decision.

 

Mr. McLeod, who was also speaking Thursday on Beyond the Headlines, bemoaned the manner in which the changes are being implemented.

 

He said the Education Ministry should have consulted with school administrators.

 

With the last two years being very difficult for schools and the entire education system due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. McLeod argued that the ministry's move was just "bad planning" and "most unfortunate" at this time. 

 

 

But Principal of Yallahs High School in St. Thomas, Mark Malabver, acknowledged that there are some advantages and disadvantages of the ministry-paid school system. 

 

One advantage, he admitted, is that bursars would not "get bogged down" in the management of dozens of teachers' salaries. 

 

However, he noted that a downside to the plan is that there can be lengthy delays in new teachers getting their salaries from the ministry, with the process taking as long as six months in some cases.

 

Mr. Malabver was also a guest Thursday on Beyond the Headlines.

 

Yallahs High is a non-bursar-paid school.