Union and former Minister could not resolve the problems foreign teachers are facing.
PHILIPSBURG:--- A teacher identified as Lindon Williams who was recruited by the Department of Education has decided to bring his and some of his colleagues plight to the forefront hoping that the current Minister of Education will take action to curb the abuse foreign teachers are facing on the island. Williams told SMN News that he is a Guyanese native that was teaching in Nevis when the former Principal of the St. Maarten Vocational School contacted him and had the Department of Education invite him to St. Maarten where his core task was to establish and prepare students to write the Caribbean Certificate Secondary Level Competence Examinations (CCSLC). Williams said he came to the island in 2010 by invitation and met with someone responsible for personnel at the Department of Education who hired him the following year (2011). Williams said at first he and other foreign teachers that were recruited could not get their residency, neither their doctor card and most importantly they are grossly underpaid even though he personally has 26 years of teaching experience and holds a bachelor’s degree along with his teacher’s certification. He said he and another teacher went to IND and laid their case out and showed where they are working and that is how they managed to get their residency. Further to that he said the staff at the Education Department would threaten them because they were illegal. “We were told we cannot leave and that if we speak up we will be kicked out of the island.” Williams said he personally wrote several letters to the department and even his union leader wrote letters and they never got a response. He said when former Minister of Education was in office he wrote a letter to the Minister and Mr. Aventurin and the former Minister gave directives to the department of education to deal with the issues concerning Williams and the Principal of the school. He said to date the problem was not dealt with but he was sent back to the classroom. Based on pay-slips Williams showed SMN News reporter his gross salary is Naf.4, 355, while he is taking home Naf.3, 401. 99. Williams said assistant teachers that are locals are earning more than the teachers who were invited to teach on St. Maarten. Further to that he said one of the excuse the department is using is that the teachers have to find a way to evaluate their qualifications if not they are placed in scale 7.
Williams said besides those challenges he was attacked by students at the St. Maarten Vocational School and by at least two principals that were in charge. He said that the community is of the opinion that it’ s only the students at the St. Maarten Vocational School are abusive but he wants everyone to know that even the Principals abuse and humiliate foreign teachers when they decide not to allow students that attack them into their classrooms unless management deals with the issues. “The principal that recruited me tried to fight me in the school yard because he brought a student that physically attacked me in the classroom and I told him unless the matter is dealt with I will not teach the student. When I said that the Principal basically told me that he is the one running the school. When that happened I walked out of the classroom and was heading towards the Principal office when he tried to fight with me in the school yard. Most recently the current principal did the same thing and to avoid a conflict I left the classroom and went to the union who wrote a letter to the department of education and to date have not received a response.” Williams said that he even met with the former Secretary General Claudette Labega and showed her his plight but that seems to be the worst thing he had done because the person in charge of personnel cursed him off for speaking to the Secretary General. Williams said after being attacked by the Principal she informed him that he was not to enter the school again, this letter he said was endorsed by the head of the department of Education. Williams said despite his union leader writing letters to the department of education nothing is done to rectify the situation.
Williams have decided to leave his job because he is underpaid and abused by management of the school. He said the only reason he brought his issues to the forefront is because there are at least ten teachers all foreign either from Guyana or Jamaica that are in the situation he left and he felt that someone has to expose the problem in order for government to intervene.
SMN News could not reach the Head of Public Education Gwendolin Davis Holiday for a comment on Tuesday evening.
