NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2024 15 through its involvement with the Caribbean Union of Teachers. The current President of the Caribbean Union of Teachers, Dr. Garth Anderson is a Past President of the JTA. TEACHER REPRESENTATION: THE CORE OF OUR EFFORTS Sparing no penny, the best defence has been retained to represent our members’ interests. One of the most famous and controversial is the Byfield, Johnson and German cases of the 1960s. One case of most recent memory was the agitation of the Association that resulted in the rescinding of the then Ministry of Education Youth and Culture’s action to separate more than three hundred (300) teachers from their jobs in 2000. Swiftly following that success was the reinstatement of eight (8) teachers whose cases were advanced to the Appellate Court by the Association resulting in the Supreme Court’s decision being overturned in December 2001. The JTA boasts a success rate of approximately eighty-five 85% in terms of the reinstatement of teachers to their jobs. The Association however, has come under heavy criticism over the years for what some may call its defence of ‘waywardness’, those who to the eye of many are in breach of the Code of Regulations of 1980, the Child Care and Protection Act, or any other relevant regulation. The union must continue to communicate the extent to which it utilises the resources within its power to teach and empower its members to maintain high standards of professionalism through the various programmes carried out under its professional arm. In its 60 years of existence, the Union has used mainly diplomatic means to achieve its objectives. However, the Union has had to resort to withdrawing its services, when all else failed: June 1966, April 1978, April 1983, May 1985, and 2017 being the most recent. At the 17th Annual Conference of the JTA, August 1981 a resolution was tabled and passed which called for the establishment of a National Education Council, a body that remains relevant for the appointment of school boards and to generally ensure that the Code of Regulations (1980) is upheld. THE STATE OF THE UNION AT 60 The Jamaica Teaching Council Bill represents a major paradigm shift and is essentially an instrument of reform in the teaching profession in Jamaica. In 2012, the JTA succeeded in its representation of teachers as it was able to secure a review of the draft legislation on the Jamaica Teaching Council. The JTA argued, amongst other things, that the composition of the Commission was not representative of the teaching profession that it sought to regulate and this would place the teacher at a disadvantage. The onus is on all members of the Association to remain vigilant as the future of the profession will be determined by the results of our advocacy in this matter. The Jamaica Teachers’ Association is, first and foremost, a trade union and it must remain alert to the dangers of government domination. In addition, the union will only successfully defend the rights of its members if it remains free of government control to function most soundly and effectively as a basic bulwark of a free society. As the union is at the zeitgeist of 60 years, we cannot march forward without a clinical evaluation and accompanying acknowledgement of our challenges. We now operate within a context that is different from our forebears. How do we maintain the delicate balance of retaining the vision and values of those who have gone before us while embracing the 21st century outlook, approaches and nuances that are now an important part of our craft? How do we demonstrate our relevance against the onslaught of legislation, policy directives, perceptions of our operations and the general atmosphere of wariness that seems to be intensifying amongst the very teaching fraternity? ‘Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful’. Being mindful of every challenge it is necessary that we press on, enlivening the words of Errol Miller at the Association’s 50th “Education is about mobilising a people to conserve the essence of their civilisation while responding to dynamic imperatives of the present to construct the future that promises the greatest possibility of their survival and even prosperity” . Melissa Beckford-Simpson is a member of the General Council of the JTA and a member of the 60th Anniversary Publication Subcommittee. LaSonja Harrison is Immediate Past President of the JTA. JTA 60TH ANNIVERSARY FEATURE The new JUT Memorial Hall which was formally opened yesterday (August 10, 1949) on upper Church Street. GLEANER PHOTO
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