JTA committee meeting to determine next steps amid JTC bill discontent

The Action Committee of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) is now meeting to determine the organisation's next steps as discontent mounts over the impending passage and implementation of the Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) bill.

The committee was scheduled to begin meeting at 11 a.m. at the organisation's headquarters in downtown Kingston, with the JTA saying it will outline its "strategic course of action and the way forward" at a press conference at 2:30 p.m.

The association says it is "concerned that after several comprehensive submissions to the Joint Select Committee and repeated assurances that our recommendations would be meaningfully reflected in the proposed amendments [to the bill], it is now clear that these critical inputs have been largely disregarded."

President of the JTA, Dr Mark Smith, on Sunday declared that the union, which represents over 20,000 teachers, stands ready to “take all possible actions” to halt the passage of the JTC bill.

A key feature of the bill is the establishment of a council that will have the responsibility to regulate the sector and issue licences to teachers.

It was recently passed in the Senate, and it is set to go before the House of Representatives.

Smith, addressing a church service to mark the start of Education Week, urged the Government to address what he called significant flaws with the bill.

Smith argued that the bill seems more geared towards implementing punitive sanctions and taking control of the profession away from teachers.

Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.