Catholic primary schools continue to be plagued by the problem of teacher shortages – but this school term it’s for a whole new reason.

According to the Catholic Education Board of Management (CEBM), the problem now stems from a recent policy decision by the Ministry of Education that all persons entering the Teaching Service must have a Bachelor of Education degree.

In most cases, it would take four years for persons in this programme to graduate from the University of Trinidad and Tobago, the CEBM stated last week.

In the current transition period, the Ministry is hiring “assistant teachers (primary)” on contract.

Difficulties have arisen, said CEBM Director Mennen Walker-Briggs, because “contracts are only for three months and these teachers are not paid during the vacation.” She noted that it was a gamble for persons considering teaching as a profession to leave permanent jobs to take up a temporary position.

“Previously, when we hired untrained teachers, they were there for the long haul. They worked in the school for two years and then went into college. Now, we are telling people to resign their jobs and to come in on contract, three months at a time,” Walker-Briggs said.

She added that people were understandably hesitant to make this move, and noted that rural schools were the ones most affected by the ministry’s new policy.

The CEBM faced another obstacle as it went about placing those who graduated from teachers’ college this year, the Director revealed. She explained that the Board could only place those teachers in “outright vacancies”.

Teachers who have successfully completed their studies ought to be upgraded to Teacher I, Walker-Briggs said, but added that the Ministry has stipulated that the upgrade could only be had if the teacher filled an outright vacancy. No teacher filling a temporary vacancy – where a teacher might be on no-pay or maternity leave – could be upgraded, she said.

“That’s why someone living in Marabella may find herself placed in Port of Spain or Diego Martin because that is the only outright vacancy in which we can place the person,” explained Walker-Briggs. “Outright vacancies affect placement of graduates, their upgrade and consequently, their seniority.”

She also expressed concern that “many of our schools are in various stages of disrepair, especially our country schools.”

Like several government schools, a few Catholic primary schools –including in Maraval, Tunapuna and Curepe - remained closed last Monday on the first day of the new school year.

Walker-Briggs said in the case of Catholic schools, this state of affairs has arisen because the CEBM has not been able to meet its obligations to its contractors in a timely fashion.