Submitted by Neil Watchman
In December last year, it was rumoured that the Principal of the BCC, Dr. Gladstone (Gallstone) Best had decided to abolish the general staff meeting held on the first day of semester and instead, hold individual meetings with the various Divisions. That was no rumour; to date the Principal has held surreptitious meetings with two such Divisions: the Division of Commerce and the Division of General Education. On both occasions outspoken tutors in either Division grilled him on this move and other matters. The lame duck CPAC (so-called College Planning and Advisory Committee) has requested (N.B. not “demanded”) that the meetings be restored.
By this act of ‘division’ the principal has effectively fractured an institution already alienated both in nomenclature and in spirit in order to maintain his tenuous position. It is now recognized that his action was taken to preempt a planned motion of no confidence against him, a move advocated by some of the more militant members of staff.
The once-a-semester meeting allowed current members to meet new staff, hear about retirements, academic achievements etc. explanations for any contentious issues and keep staff up to date on pending actions. Of course, staff members have used this occasion to vent their frustration with the administration (aka the Principal) which has come under increasing fire for a string of malfeasances ranging from late payments to staff (the Principal is chief Finance Officer according to the BCC Act) to the dire state of the physical plant to deteriorating security.
Readers who have not been following the BCC saga – see http://barbadosunderground.net/2013/12/22/barbados-community-college-conversation-continued/) should note that the Board advertised the job of Principal in October 2012. We gather that at least three members of staff applied for the post but to date there has not been one interview! It appears that the Principal appealed once again to Ronald Jones and brought in “the union” which, it is alleged, argued that he was being “constructively dismissed” (Readers should note that the Principal is hired under contract; his permanent job is that of Deputy Principal which means that no one can be appointed permanently as Deputy Principal; this has been the situation for nearly eleven year now!)
Here is Wikipedia’s basic definition of constructive dismissal: In employment law, constructive dismissal, also called constructive discharge, occurs when employees resign because their employer’s behaviour has become so intolerable or heinous or made life so difficult that the employee has no choice but to resign. The article which cites 46 sources, can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructive_dismissal. Since the principal did not resign we can only assume that the reported reason for his survival is false and that either Ronald Jones intervened once again to save him (which is more than likely), that the Board led by Stephen Broome is absolutely asinine or that the Principal has entered into a tacit agreement to facilitate the Chairman’s pork barrel exploits at the BCC (or all of the above!).
I would not put it pass the union to use the ruse they appear to have employed to get a stay of execution for the Principal; they have done similar before! Like too many institutions in Barbados which once served us well, the major unions are floundering in the oil of pork barrel corruption that is endemic to Barbados and which escapes the probes of Transparency International!
Under the leadership of a former chairman, Mr. Bertram Carter, Dr. ‘Gallstone’ Best would have been “passed out” of the leadership of BCC long ago. The former chairman easily saw through his incompetence, dithering and lack lustre performance quite quickly. But it was Ronald Jones to the rescue. The chairman’s recommendation was countermanded, Mr. Carter was removed as chairman and the rest, as they say, is history.
In case the readers have not got the point: there is nothing commendable about the current Principal that should warrant his retention; his survival is due entirely to the fact that he is member of Ronald Jones’ constituency and now (it is alleged) a member of the same ‘lodge’ Mr. Jones attends.
Six reasons for not rehiring Dr. “Gallstone” Best:
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As Chief Finance Officer, Dr. Best, by his lack of vision and proaction, allowed the Bursar to “return” over one million dollars in funding and for the Government to serially cut the BCC budget each year over the last four years. In his last graduation speech (2012) he made an infantile attempt to ask the government for more funding for BCC! Incredible!
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As chief Disciplinary Officer (see BCC Code of Conduct and Staff Manual), Dr. Best has violated written college policies with respect to the timeliness of the hearing cases of disciplinary action against both staff and students, the case of the tutor Natalie Walrus-Jones being the most outstanding, pun intended! This has created an atmosphere of frustration and a feeling of being besieged among staff.
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Under his chairmanship of CPAC the BCC pass mark was dropped from 50% to 45%. Still students struggle to attain this mark. The pass mark ought to have been retained or raised (as UWI has done). What was required was for him to initiate bold, imaginative policies to raise the standard of teaching, extend library hours, weed out loafing students and screen applicants more effectively.
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As the officer ultimately responsible, he has failed to do anything about the dangerously lax security especially at night. Finding a guard when needed is like finding a needle in a haystack. The guards are on a perpetual work-to-rule of their own making.
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As figurehead Dr. “Gallstone” Best has failed to defend the image of the College when it was attacked in the main media on at least two occasions during his tenure. (See management writer Mintzberg on this role of leaders here: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/management-roles.htm).
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In his informational role: monitor, disseminator and spokesperson (Mintzberg op.cit.), the principal has failed to meaningfully communicate with staff. For example, very few staff members are aware of the deliberations on the BCC’s long overdue strategic plan. That is why the act of abolishing the semester meetings is so dangerous; it puts the institution on the slippery path to a dictatorship. A sampling of emails sent out directly by the Principal reads like some ten year olds’ forays into written communication (rather than those of a person with a Ph.D.) both in terms of topics (e.g. cleaning of the College- the job of Maintenance; scholarships- the Deputy Principal’s jurisdiction or mundane events like exhibitions) and length (barely three lines, unless it is a forwarder!)
Our understanding is that Dr. Best’s contract ends in July this year (2014). It remains to be seen what Ronald Jones will “allow” the Board to do about the leadership of this failing institution. One can only advise staff that if Dr. “Gallstone” is not jettisoned then, they should exercise their option to shut down the institution.
P.S. The Principal’s Spanish-speaking, mouthpiece Joe Inniss, perpetual head of the so-called Staff Association and member of the ALA (meaning not fit for public consumption) called a meeting yesterday. It was reportedly attended by about ten persons, a hat trick (or worse)! Poor Joe, the Sancho Panza of the embattled Principal, has not gotten the message yet.
Members of the Staff Association have subscriptions deducted from their salary each month. Their only benefit is a grudging, periodic plate of food (usually near Xmas). (It’s amazing the acquiescence a plate of food can “buy” from the “lickerish”). To the otherwise-minded, now would be a good time to stop those subscriptions until this puppet is removed, especially given the current recession. Why is it that some “dead” people are afraid (or ashamed) or to lie down!
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