est. 2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

Alexandra School – The Way Forward

It was evident to the most discerning when the Alexandra School issue reared its head – Alexandra School Dispute – Who Shall Lead The Children? – that the Barbados Secondary Teachers Union (BSTU) had reached the end of its tether fuelled by how past grievances were managed by the ministry of education. Many Barbadians became…

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The wonderful sight of teacher and pupil reunited at the Alexandra School – Photo credit Barbados Advocate

It was evident to the most discerning when the Alexandra School issue reared its head – Alexandra School Dispute – Who Shall Lead The Children? – that the Barbados Secondary Teachers Union (BSTU) had reached the end of its tether fuelled by how past grievances were managed by the ministry of education. Many Barbadians became outraged that the ministry of education would have allowed the Alexandra dispute to become so protracted, six years and counting. Caswell Franklyn, Head of Unity Trade Union who possesses an above average knowledge of the workings of the public service posited that the – Alexandra School Impasse: [was] A Massive Failure Of Public Service Administration. He produced the PUBLIC SERVICE ACT 2007 – 41 with Amendment to support his view.

In fact when the BSTU departed from the heavily trodden path of grievance procedure and withheld labour which resulted in 30 Alexandra teachers on the picket line, acute discernment was unnecessary as to what was required. When the BSTU mobilized around a cry for the separation of Principal Broomes from the school it was obvious Houston had a problem. If that was not enough to spur all concerned into action, information revealed last week that the ministry of education was in possession of an inspection document for several months only served to confirm the lethargy and incompetence with which the fractured industrial relations climate at Alexandra Secondary School was allowed to descend.

Finally when a ministerial committee was constituted chaired by Minister of Education Ronald Jones, BU commentators knew it would have been in vain – “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything”. The BSTU had travelled that road before and  was known to have lost confidence in Minister Ronald Jones. The Prime Minister would have to intervene which is consonant with how IR disputes are resolved in Barbados anyway.

After 20 days of strike action Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart finally intervened on the weekend. The objective was to get the striking teachers teachers back to work. He achieved the objective a result complimented by Caswell Franklyn.  It was obvious from early in the impasse – confirmed by Sir Roy Trotman after the Barbados Workers Union (BWU) gave its support to the BSTU – that there would be no perfect solution to the Alexandra dispute. Prime Minister Stuart got the teachers to return to work and more than hinted that the job of righting the wrongs at the school had to be started. It is regrettable that many Barbadians have not seen Stuart’s action for what it is i.e. getting the teachers back to the classroom.

BU agrees 100% with the Prime Minister that we live in a barbecue pig tail era where form too often seems to trump substance. Imagine BU’s surprise to hear President Walter Maloney expressing concern about the students being roped into the dispute. Why the hell did he not come out when it was happening and condemn it at that time? Why did Winston Crichlow, the head of the principals association feel constrain to comment after the Prime Minister got the teachers to return to the classroom, a prerequisite to moving the matter forward? Why did the Alexandra Parents Teachers feel they had to issue a statement to the press and demand that teachers and the ministry of education make an action plan available to them about making up the lost hours?

They all need to shut the hell up and allow Prime Minister to deliver what he has promised!

394 responses to “Alexandra School – The Way Forward”

  1. just wondering Avatar
    just wondering

    @ checkit-out
    Speaking as a principal who knows, yes the Education Act speaks to such an attendance record. However, conflicting instructions have resulted in most teachers NOT signing -in. The Newer Secondary Schools are the ones who usually conform. Since It either does not exist or is not enforced in the so-called older grammar schools (H.C; Q.C) ,teachers in the newer secondary schools, acting on the advice of their union, seldom sign in. Mr. Broomes is quite in order to ask teachers to record their arrival times as this is mandated in the Education Act. Teachers who refuse are in essence BREAKING THE LAW.

  2. ac Avatar
    ac

    Only a week has gone by. Matters pertaining to the school are being handled by the MOE. The Pm knows what the ramifications would be if Mr. Broomes stayed at AX . Does anyone believe he is willing to take that chance . i don’t think so. BTW the BSTU still holding the cards! BRoomes out or WE BSTU OUT AGAIN! Any one willing to bet the odds of having a BSTU Strike again!

  3. David Avatar
    David

    @Checkit-out

    If the PM reviewed the logs it is academic at this stage what McCarthy scribes in his column.

  4. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    David;

    Note “just wondering’s” response above. Looks like another point for Broomes. Could this be one of the grouses that the BSTU had against Broomes? If it is, it is suggestive that Mr. Broomes methodology, while sticking to the letter of the law, could have alienated a number of the older teachers.

    In fact, extrapolating from this, it may well turn out that many of the complaints that BSTU and the BOD might have had against the Principal, might have been rooted in his strict observance of the letter of the Education Act.

    If that turns out to be so, it will be very interesting to see how the FS separation solution will be effected against someone who, even if perhaps misguidedly, was demonstrably seeking to have teachers operate in accordance with the Act. Would it be possible for the PM to maintain a semblance of fairness while separating someone whose major crime would have been in enforcing the provisions of a duly proclaimed Act and the regulations thereto, that related to his job as principal?

    Oh what a tangled web.

  5. just wondering Avatar
    just wondering

    I doubt the principal’s log book will be of any significance in this issue. Very few Principals actually record info of great import in these books which are never reviewed by the MOE. The book tends to reflect special activities on the school’s calendar, the school’s performance in sporting/cultural events, any major disruptions to the normal school day, e.g power outage, an invasion of bees, a major disturbance – things of that nature, names of new teachers or those going on leave. The Principal could also record any problems with particular staff members who by law, must be informed of the entry and must be given an opportunity to read it and to respond to it.

  6. Yardbroom Avatar
    Yardbroom

    Hi ac
    Why a BSTU strike again, you said Mr. Broomes was clearing his desk?

  7. ac Avatar
    ac

    yardbroome . the possibility is only there if the PM renigs and the PM is NOT a MAN that he should lie. ON THAT I REST MY CASE.

  8. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    Just wondering;

    Thanks for responding to my post above. I am a frustrated detective at heart and actually your response has provided me with one of the clues that I had been searching for.

    From what you’ve said; The Principal could also record any problems with particular staff members who by law, must be informed of the entry and must be given an opportunity to read it and to respond to it. , it seems as if this log book would be of great value in the disputed paper trail for the letters that the principal allegedly sent to the MOE. You may recall that the CEO-MOE indicated that no such letters were found at the MOE while Mr. Broomes insisted that he had delivered the letters to the registry and that they had been lost by the MOE.

    If the log exists, and if the principal recorded what would have been an act of disobedience by a teacher in the log, the existence of that dated and properly sequenced record would constitute some additional measure of proof that the letters Mr Broomes claimed that he had sent, had indeed existed, contrary to claims by some on this blog. The paper trail for the letters would have been somewhat strengthened. On the other hand, if there is no such entry on the relevant dates, it could call in question Mr. Broomes’ portrayal of the situation.

  9. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    Wow I see we back at it again. Check-it just can’t get enough of the Get Mary Redman Crusade ( he has denied it too)…..Time longer than rope ac …give the PM a little latitude…Yardbroom …chill…news will soon break ..watch.

  10. Observing Avatar
    Observing

    Guys, let’s not forget this whole saga started because Broome’s asked BSTU teachers to account for and confirm their presence at Teacher’s Professional Day before being paid, back in 2006/8 I believe. “Separating” a manager for “managerial style” be it bad or ridiculous is not quite straightforward. The challenge in “resolving” this matter is the precedent setting nature of it. All loose ends have to be tied up or else its open season afterwards.
    @ac
    For the BSTU to strike again would raise the ire of the public tenfold. It was interesting that there was an even split in the public about the PM’s move. speaks volumes..

  11. David Avatar
    David

    @Checkit-Out

    You are going around the mulberry bush because if Broomes as suggested is a stickler for insisting on the law as articulated in the education act then one should reasonably expect meticulous and accurate records in his log book.

  12. just wondering Avatar
    just wondering

    @checkit-out
    Notice I said the Principal “could”. What goes in the school’s log book is left to the discretion of the Principal. Something as important as a teacher being insubordinate and failing to carry out her duties (as has been alleged) may not appear in the log book. If the teacher in question is guilty, then the principal should have spoken to her at least once before writing to the Ministry. That conversation SHOULD be in logbook. If she continued not to follow the Principal’s instructions after that conversation, he should have either asked her to put her refusal in writing or he should have written to her on the issue confirming his instruction and her refusal to comply . Such correspondence should then be placed on the teacher’s file, and forwarded to the MOE as an attachment to the whatever communication that was being sent on the matter. it is important that both Principals and teachers understand and follow procedures especially when dealing with matters that are likely to attract the attention of the union.

  13. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    Just wondering;
    Thanks again for your extremely clear post above. Reading between the lines, it seems possible that the Principal and or the teacher might or might not have followed mandated procedures to the T. If the principal erred procedurally in this matter (given the heavy guns against him) it seems that he might have made himself vulnerable to an early separation but could still fight the matter over an extended period or could take an early retirement. If he did’nt, the Teacher might have made herself vulnerable to some disciplinary action by CPO / MOE which we could probably expect that the Union might frown on. In any case, a matter of this type could take years for eventual unravelling and any resultant necessary action.

    I wonder if BSTU would be willing to have the matter drag on for an extended period, especially if Mr. Broomes were still tenuously connected to AX during that time.

    David; sorry to be apparently going around the mulberry bush again.

  14. The Scout Avatar
    The Scout

    Even if everything was not recorded in the log book, one must investigate if this is peculiar to AX or if all or most of the other principals do the same thing. In case thids is the norm with most or all of them, and this is the only thing against Mr Broomes, then we need to correct them all or fire them all.not just Mr Broomes.It is simple the BSTU erred badly and now they CANNOT strike again or they will face the FULL WEIGHT for so doing. Plan “B” is in place in case this happens. Yes, teachers are important but we CANNOt allow hold our youth to ransome.

  15. chris mchale Avatar
    chris mchale

    MUBARAK OF EGYPT, GADDAFI OF LIBYA, BEN ALI OF TUNISIA…..ALL GONE!!!
    WHO NEXT?….MUGABE??.. ASSAD??…………………………

    OR MARY REDMAN??!!!

    WHO WILL GO FIRST?…REDMAN?….OR THE P.M. AND THE DLP…..
    WHO IS RUNNING BARBADOS?….REDMAN?…OR THE GOVERNMENT OF BARBADOS?

  16. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    Its now two weeks since the striking teachers returned to AX. Things have gone quiet. Anyone has any information on what is happening at the School? Does the MOE have a permanent supervisory presence there? Is Mr. Broomes carrying out his job as Principal?

  17. ac Avatar
    ac

    @check itout

    No the MOE does not have a permanent supervisory presence however the day to day activities of the school are being accounted for!
    Is Mr. Brromes carrying out his job as principal. Yes ! that is what he is being paid for .until he is kicked out.

  18. David Avatar
    David

    Surprising coincidence we have Tony Marshall who is Chairman of NIS and former CLICO director and Jepter Ince, parliamentary Secretary and Senator and former Executive of ClICO who headed their Balanced Fund.

  19. David Avatar
    David

    Many wondered how long it would have taken before brother Broomes was in the news again. Let us hope Deputy Greaves (husband of department head Greaves who teaches at AX) deals with the matter of Broomes instructing a teacher to cut off the muff of a student with dispatch.

  20. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    @ David
    If your sources are correct..the so instructed teacher must have been from one of the “remained 20″….who Jeff would have attempted to communicate.For as far as news reaching the onion bags,( and this is a good source)…there is no communication with from the 30…the man is being treated like a ghost denn…

  21. Caswell Franklyn Avatar
    Caswell Franklyn

    Say it ain’t so! Alexandra School is featuring negatively in the headlines again. This time about an alleged haircut and the suspension of the same student, again I must say allegedly, for gambling outside the Speightstown Bus Terminal.

    I am not going to concern myself about the haircut at this stage, I will allow the police and whoever handle that matter, because cutting that boy’s hair without his consent would amount to assault and battery, so I will wait and see.

    I am more concerned about the suspension for gambling, since it would appear that it is ok to gamble on the school’s compound. During the strike, students were seen gambling all over the school with impunity. At that time they were in support of uncle Jeff, and those little angels could not have done anything wrong at that time. Oh what a tangled web we weave…

  22. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    @Check-it
    Where is that fellow known for:
    1) I was on on a crusade asking for the necks of Mary Redman and those ” rouge teachers”, and 2), asking for punishment of Mary Redman and the teachers, doing so with venom .
    Yes CKIT..I remain resolved and I add to that you cloak is lifting, being that you fail to comment on only the Ax matter…one wonders your closeness and one-sided agendas to matters

  23. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    This is a Broomes media play.Check it.How better to look good after the last episode..having taking a BASHING….Spot-light>> “Disciplinarian to the Rescue.”..be a man of action also….send a lowly teacher to cut the boy hair..keep your distance in case legal complication.

    Broomes will not miss a play boy.

  24. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    Old Onion Bags; I never cease to be amazed by your seeming lack of comprehension or your ability to set up a patently untrue situation and then continuously trying to whip me with it. Yuh sound like a political consultant doh.

    Anyhow, re. this current matter, I don’t think that both sides have yet been fully aired and I’ll wait to comment definitively when that happens.

    Re. your comment about “a broomes media play”, with the info available in the public domain, it could just as well be a ” strikers media play” to try to speed matters up.

    With the CEO on leave, as reported in the nation, don’t you think that the Ag CEO should recuse himself from this matter?

    In my book, It seems totally stupid for a teacher to cut a boys hair. I would think that the child would have been sent home with a note to his parents not to send him back until he complied with the school’s regulations. We need the full story on this.

    In my book, It would have been totally stupid for that teacher to cut the Boy’s hair on the instructions of Mr. Broomes. Were those instructions written? Could it have been an “off the cuff” statement like “dah boy want he hair cutting off” that was eagerly acted on by one of the 32 to heap some more hot water on Broomes? I hope someone who knows the true situation would let the BU family know.

    Is it legal for a teacher to cut off a child’s hair?

    Who held down the boy when his hair was being cut?

    There has to be a lot more to this story than is presently in the public domain.

    I’m looking forward to the gaps on either side being filled in.

  25. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    @ check -it
    Hey ole buddy, good to hear you man.That story was media fodder for sure so just treat it as such.I got a better link for you bro.>>which may save your family and life >>>>check this, you decide.

    http://www.survivefoodcrisis.org/new/t31/index2.php?tid=beforeitsnews&9ac7df89061b4031bcb4eb7c6545fc0e=

  26. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    Old Onion Bags;

    Thanks for the link. It is very sobering to think that we are actually in a worst situation than the US re. the oncoming food crisis.

  27. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    Is there a Four cross road near Alexandra? Can somebody work some obeah at the Four Cross to get dat School name outta de public domain? The Broomes saga aint even die die down when this situation about an unwanted hair cut catapult de School name onto the front pages again.

    I swear somebody down dey like dey kill a priest.

  28. Random Thoughts Avatar
    Random Thoughts

    Bush Bath tomorrowing morning at 2:00 at the four cross roads in Speightstown. Uncle Jeff invited. Anybody who want to help invited too.

  29. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    Something weird seems to be happening here.

    A story breaks, with photographs, of a schoolboy who unwillingly suffered the forcible removal of his “muff” by a teacher. The principal of the school is alleged to have ordered the haircut without the permission of his parents.
    The principal and the teacher would therefore appear, if the story is true, to have committed an illegal offense.

    There is hardly any media outrage. The story dies on the first day it comes out without any explanations.

    Isn’t this strange, especially since the principal is Mr. Broomes and the school is Alexandra school where just over 2 weeks ago there was an intense strike going on and where the teachers and the PM and the teacher’s union should be extremely happy that they might at last have some actionable grounds to have Mr. Broomes separated with dispatch?

    Is there something going on here that seems to be totally outside the realm of normalcy?

    Wha’happninn?

  30. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @Amused, Jeff Cumberbatch or Anonlegal. is “forcible removal of his “muff” by a teacher not a criminal assault on a minor?

    I ent nuh Lawya but someting wrong.

  31. The Scout Avatar
    The Scout

    there seems to be a deligerate attempt to destabilise the AX school, maybe since no true reason for Mr Broomes “separation” can be found, the powers that be are trying to create another case against Mr Broomes. Let’s look at this sensibly (1) It would be foolhardy on any teacher to carry out such an instruction from the principal unless it is WRITTEN. (2) Since Mr Broomes is being instructed by his attorneys before any decision, it would be unlikely that he wqould have made this request (3) Could this be a set up by those against Mr Broomes continued presence at the school, to try to further discredit the gentleman? At the end of the day, the students and the good name of the school, plus the entire educational system are the biggest losers, and yet they have found nothing against Mr Broomes. When anyone can go to this length to discredit another person, I will advise Mr Broomes to very careful on the job, since the next move maybe, is to expire him. Which principal would be next/ Are we not planting the foundation for anarchy withing the educational system. Incedentally C F many or all secondary schools including H.C have suspended students for gambling, why then condemn Mr Broomes for doing the same. Are you saying it’s O.K to gamble, whether on the school’s compound or not? It seems he’s dammed if he does and dammed if he don’t take action to enforce discipline at school. MAN TO MAN IS SO UNJUST

  32. Caswell Franklyn Avatar
    Caswell Franklyn

    Scout
    You seem to be very selective in your comprehension. I have no problem with a student being suspended for gambling. My concern was simple: why weren’t the students who were found gambling during school hours and on the school compound during the strike not suspended?

  33. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    Is it true that there was gambling by students during the strike? if so, how widespread was it? Was the gambling in the full sight of the depleted members of the teaching staff and visitors? Was (were) the teacher(s) responsible for discipline on strike?

    Stuff happens during an abnormal situation such as a strike. 22 teachers cannot be as efficient in the delivery of discipline as 52. The 30 missing teachers must take their fair share for any deterioration in discipline during the strike.

  34. The Scout Avatar
    The Scout

    Caswell Caswell Caswell
    You’re being childish, you’re letting your bias run away with you. Obviously, as Check-it pointed out, things were so hectic then at the school, and with limited staff, children would get away with mischief. if you want to blame anyone for the misbehavior during that period, blame those thirty teachers who were on a self-imposed “vacation” and abandoned their charges. Caswell, you’re catching at feathers, please don’t lower yourself to that standard, leave that for others of less understanding.

  35. David Avatar
    David

    It is known that gambling occurs at many of our schools around Barbados. It is done in broad day light at the UWI. Why split hairs?

  36. The Scout Avatar
    The Scout

    David
    What are you saying, that Mr Broomes was out of place for suspending the child for gambling? Plus you can’t match UWI with the secondary schools, yes, gambling goes on their and it is not only wrong but illegal, however, we are talking about adults against young children. Incedentally, it is not me who is splitting hairs over the gambling issue, check your good friend “mentor” even, he’s the one who insinuated that gambling is or was rampant at AX during the strike period, and is questioning why Mr Broomes waited to now to suspend someone for the offence. All of you are catching at straws. Admit that P.M tricked BSTU/Mary Redman into returning to school, in my opinion he did a good patch-up job, he got the result he wanted, now it;s up to the BSTU/Mary Redman to bring new charges against Mr Broomes, and this one is so childish, it makes them show how immature the bunch of them are.

  37. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ The Scout | February 11, 2012 at 1:13 PM |
    “Admit that P.M tricked BSTU/Mary Redman into returning to school, in my opinion he did a good patch-up job, he got the result he wanted, now it’s up to the BSTU/Mary Redman to bring new charges against Mr Broomes, and this one is so childish, it makes them show how immature the bunch of them are.”

    Scout, you really know how to tie up loose ends and end up with a true reef knot. FS tricked that pinkie big time. Checkmate, red woman! Game over, start afresh! FS knows you and tricked you big time; n’est-ce pas? The fellas would like to pay out the man but money is scarce these days; so let the man run until retirement night catches up.

  38. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Is gambling legal in Barbados?

  39. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @Hants | February 11, 2012 at 1:55 PM |
    “Is gambling legal in Barbados?”
    Yes but only when the pols can get kickbacks via the granting of licenses or government can get easy tax revenues like the Lotto and scratch cards or even slot machines (aka one-armed bandits). Men throwing dice or playing poker or “tonk” under the tree is still contraband but not in middle-class or upscale houses. What hypocrisy!
    But soon we will see this country selling its soul to the god of gambling.
    No new hotels or upmarket developments unless the rich can spin the wheel of fortune or hold the cards bedecked in their fancy evening wear.

  40. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    Miller, et.al;

    Whoa. There are no facts in the public domain about the hair cutting incident that withstands serious scrutiny. None of it makes sense.

    Jeff Broomes would have had to be an utter idiot and mad, to boot, to have instructed a teacher to cut a student’s hair under any circumstance. He would have had to be raving mad to have done so in his current predicament where the Teachers, the BSTU, some in the MOE and the PM must all be looking for hard evidence to separate him “with dispatch”.

    Any Teacher in the school who carried out such instructions would have also been an idiot and stark raving mad, to boot.

    Has anyone looked seriously at the boy’s story. That story seems to be that a teacher cut his muff off with a scissors totally against his will. Does this seem credible to you? How credible does it appear to you that a teacher could use one hand to operate a scissors and the other to hold a high school student against his will while cutting the hair? Any of you ever tried to comb a small child’s hair against his will?

    Could there be some other more plausible explanation for the boy’s hair being cut?

    That there has been no further revelations so far on this matter suggests to me that we might soon find the Nation Newspaper backing-back on the major aspects of the story.

  41. maat Avatar
    maat

    How about we do away with all principals in schools? We’d be able to put the saved salaries back into education, save a fortune in pensions and stop inflating the ego’s of a few people that start to believe that a school is their personal fiefdom which entitles them to some legacy when they leave.

    Let the senior teachers rotate as a system of chairpersons for schools run by a committee of parents and teachers .

    Peace

  42. Random Thoughts Avatar
    Random Thoughts

    Checkit_out asked “Any of you ever tried to comb a small child’s hair against his will?”

    Yes and I ALWAYS win.

    No child or teen on earth is a match for a determined adult.

    Adults are larger, stronger, trickier and more experienced.

  43. Maxine Avatar
    Maxine

    The haircut issue is very real. It did happen and from what his classmates say, they were all appauled by it. You say the principal would have to be mad as well as the teacher that would carry out the instructions, well….it happened, so they are mad then. Just because the info is not out there in the public does not mean it did not happen. That might be the choice of the parents not to put themselves in the limelight any further. I also know that that teacher is known to do some really strange things and the principal does nothing about them. Investigate the facts.

  44. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    Maxine
    While you are there ..is there any truth the teacher and parentboy are related to Jeff Broomes ? This was from an insider.

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