National PTA body will address ‘areas of concern’ in teaching council bill

The legislation is currently under review by a parliamentary joint select committee and when passed into law will see all government-paid teachers requiring a license to practice in the country.

Under the proposed bill, teachers must adhere to a professional code of ethics, standards, and maintain certain level of competence. Failing in these aspects a teacher’s license can be suspended temporarily or permanently revoked in similar to that of the legal profession.

There have been plenty debate surrounding the proposed legislation which has been in the making for more than a decade ago. With regard to the latest round of discussions on the bill, the Jamaica Teachers’ Association has expressed its discomfort with aspects of the document particularly as it relates to the qualification criteria for educators.

Not before now the NPTAJ has been quiet on the matter. But in a media release Friday, the parent-teacher body said the issue at hand requires careful thought and a deeper understanding of the salient points raised by the JTA and the government.

The statement read: “As the most important stakeholder in this matter, the NPTAJ will at the appropriate time make its contribution to this debate.

“The National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ) will not be induced into making hasty comments on a matter which we consider of extreme importance.

“We are a fully voluntary organization and are committed to our parents and teachers islandwide.

“We had previously advised the MOEY and others that we would need three to six months to get a response from the over 4,000 schools and 500,000 parents in all seven regions, to make a meaningful contribution on this bill.

“This time was not afforded as we were sent a letter on February 24, 2022, to submit response by March 28, 2022, which was inadequate.

“We have now gotten responses from many of our parents and some legal input from parents with legal backgrounds and have written to the commission. Our submissions will follow.

“We are in general agreed on many parts of the bill, but there are some areas of concern and those areas we will address once called upon to present.”