The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister Chester Cooper could not say whether all teacher vacancies would be filled before schools reopen, but said the Ministry of Education issues placement letters daily in a race to staff classrooms for the new academic year.

Mr Cooper said 17 placement letters were issued in a single day last week and that recruitment was continuing among Bahamians and overseas applicants, including candidates from Ghana.

However, he did not say how many vacancies remained, how many teachers had been recruited overall or whether all posts would be filled by the start of the school year.

Mr Cooper said the ministry hoped to have teachers in place when schools reopen but acknowledged officials were still trying to close the staffing gap.

He said “numerous Bahamians” had been recruited, including graduates, former teachers and retired educators joining the ministry’s teacher reservist programme, but did not provide a total or breakdown.

He described recruitment as “going well” and said additional information would be released “in due course”.

The ministry is also looking overseas.

Mr Cooper said prospective teachers from several countries were in the recruitment pipeline and undergoing vetting, with progress being made on candidates from Ghana.

He did not disclose how many international applicants were being processed or whether any had completed the process.

The vetting involves public-service authorities, the National Accreditation and Equivalency Council of The Bahamas, police and Interpol, with applicants’ qualifications, character and criminal records being assessed.

Questions over staffing come as the ministry also works to ensure school campuses are physically ready for reopening.

Mr Cooper expressed confidence that schools would be prepared and said assessments would continue over the next two weeks.

Mr Cooper also said a “substantial number of promotions” had recently been announced for administrators and education officers.

He addressed concerns raised by the Bahamas Educators’ Managerial Union, which has identified teacher shortages, administrative promotions and its expired industrial agreement as critical issues.

The union has also said it received a strike certificate but hopes to avoid industrial action.

Mr Cooper characterised the Davis administration’s relationship with education unions as cordial.

“We have about seven unions that we work closely with,” he said. “We don’t necessarily single any one of them out. We consistently work as best we can to resolve queries.”

He said internal communication channels remained open with the unions and senior education executives, but did not announce a settlement or timetable for addressing BEMU’s concerns.

“We want ultimately the same thing — we want a progressive education system, and we want our children to get the best quality education,” Mr Cooper said. “I’m confident that whatever issues there may be with any of the seven unions in the education system, we are going to work until all of those issues are resolved.”