
Education Minister Octavia Alfred has announced that more teachers will be appointed in the 2024-2025 academic year. According to her, the appointment of teachers is not only determined by what happens at the Ministry of Education level.
“As of now we have three lists of teachers submitted to the Public Service Commission,” Alfred said. “The Public Service Commission meets once a month to deal with all appointments…”
She continued, “In addition to that, we are now putting together a new list for us to submit that we must have the latest appraisal of the teacher which would have been or should have been submitted by July.”
Furthermore, she mentioned that there are some cases where those appraisals have not been submitted.
“So, while you hear teachers want to put a lot of pressure on the Ministry of Education, they need to also put some pressure on their administrators, their principals to ensure that their appraisals are submitted on time, because if we decide to send out this next list this week there are some teachers who were supposed to be on this list who will not be on the list, because we have not received their appraisal,” Alfred explained.
She assured teachers that as it pertains to the Ministry of Education and its personnel office, “we do our best.”
Alfred said this is the first time in Dominica’s history that a number of teachers got appointed in one school year.
As a past teacher and principal, she promised teachers who deserve appointments that it will come.
Over 70 teachers were appointed during the 2023-2024 academic year.
This minister is so daft and unqualified for the position she presently holds I don’t even hear her when she speaks.
Teachers in Dominica are too docile. They sit idly by for decades while they are trampled on by those misfits in authority. Do like the teachers in Antigua who collectively refused to go on classes until ALL teachers were fully remunerated for their upgraded qualifications.
Where is your union in all of this? The union is weak like bathroom tissue. Stop paying union dues. No representation, no payment of union dues.
“As a past teacher and principal, she promised teachers who deserve appointments that it will come.” This is yet another stupid statement. let me ask you. if a teacher is in a school 17 years not appointed is it because they did not deserve? why then do you have someone not good enough for appointment teaching kids for 17 years? what is the benchmark for appointment if appraisals are not sent and the ministry knows it is missing. Aren’t appraisals mandatory? is it not the responsibility of ministry make sure administration does its job as hired to do. Dominica is a messed up place. you devalue your human resources and too many folks hate each other. Insecure admin personnel keep thier own folks down. these nuisance we have running the place love to deflect blame. After abusing these teachers for years you going to bestow appointments to make a big hoopla and pat on back. Dominicans apparently like abuse.
@L C Matthew
Whoever you are L C Matthew ….This is a fantastically brilliant comment.
Kudos to you!
Madam minister, 70 may sound like a huge improvement compared to what you experienced as a teacher but it is still not something to be particularly proud about. If for example principals are not submitting their appraisals on time whose fault is it in enforcing? It sounds like others are dropping the ball too. If the government is not making the appropriate budgetary allocations would the appointments be made regardless? While we laud accomplishments in Education, tanto, tanto, as Dominicans would say. England, and other countries are making a play for nurses and teachers. What incentive would they have to remain if they get that offer? Jamaica alone supplied 486 qualified teachers last year to England. This situation is not encouraging for attracting or retaining persons in this job which does not get the real recognition it desires, where people are already underpaid and overworked. Don’t take those teachers for granted. They continue to have many reasons not to remain.