The Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) is demanding compensation for teachers for the formulation, supervision, marking and data entry of Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) School-Based Assessments.
“The goodwill and good faith of regional teachers will no longer be taken for granted,” the union said in a press statement.
At a CUT executive meeting in Belize last November, affiliates decided that, in the absence of any negotiation with the CXC for compensation for CXC SBA work by Feb. 28, 2015, teachers throughout the region “will contemplate unified action to ensure that adequate compensation is received from this academic year, 2014-2015”.
CUT said it recognises the importance and value of the CXC school-based Assessment, both as an integral part of the structure of the final evaluation of students at various levels, and as critical preparation for their continuing education.
“However, the CUT is convinced that the demands on teachers involved in the formulation, supervision, correction and data entry requirements of these SBAs are deserving of compensation above and beyond what is offered to them in the performance of their normal duties for the preparation of students for their final examinations,” the union said in a statement.
“CUT is of the firm view that the CXC has both the authority and moral responsibility to compensate teachers involved in the work of completing the requirements of the SBA component of their externally set exam.”
The union said the work associated with the formulation, supervision, correction and data entry of this exam “constitutes a burden on teachers in the region and falls far outside of their normal statutory responsibilities.
“Teachers have assisted the CXC in this unpaid work for too long. The demands of the syllabi are becoming greater and the introduction of new courses like CCSLC and CAPE subjects, with a sixty per cent SBA component, mean an impossible workload in times of economic cutbacks that have resulted in reductions in teaching staff and other resources throughout member states of the region.”
The union said that the hard work and commitment of Caribbean teachers have contributed substantially and is directly responsible for the achievement of the high success of the CXC within the region and internationally, adding that CXC is now offering examination courses extra-regionally.
“The Caribbean Union of Teachers is convinced that the time has come for due recognition and compensation for the unpaid work done by teachers in the region to build that reputation and success of the CXC. It must be noted that CXC has never negotiated with the CUT nor any affiliate of the CUT on compensation for any correction work done by teachers in the region.”