Post Courier report, 13th of April 2015...
The National Executive Council has recently endorsed the Ministry of Education’s response to the Parliamentary Referral Committee on Education’s (PRCE) recommendations, tabled in Parliament in August 2014.
Prime Minister. Peter O’Neill, said cabinet has taken note of the Department of Education’s (DoE) policy paper and endorsed the Ministerial Statement together with the response made by the Ministry of Education. He said the policy paper and responses come after PRCE recommended:
- Review of functions and responsibilities of the DoE and Teaching Services Commission (TSC) in the Management of teachers’ salaries and entitlements.
- TSC to review Teaching Services Act 1988 Section 9.
- Review of relevant sections of the Teaching Service and Education Acts on appointment policies and procedures with the view to transfer off powers and functions to the Provincial Education Board.
- Extension of tenure appointment from current three years to five years.
- Review of ALESCO pay system enabling it to accommodate processing of all salaries and entitlements.
- Transfer of full ALESCO Pay System and powers to the Provincial Education Board.
- Payment of teachers’ leave fares direct into their accounts.
- Annual teacher manpower update to be conducted in the first quarter of the school year.
- TCS to assume financial autonomy as a separate entity of State as per the Teaching Services Act 1988.
- Review of policy, process and procedures in the administration of retrenchment, retirement and resignation of teachers.
- Establishment of a centralized modern electronic teacher information database that is easily available for provincial education authorities and other relevant stakeholders to have access.
- Review of the TCS administrative and manpower structural requirements and resourcing the Commission, enabling it greater autonomy to effectively and efficiently administer and regulate powers and functions.
”Cabinet has also approved K7, 826, 000.00 funding for the implementation of plans and programs for 2015 not budgeted and appropriated in the 2015 Budget Appropriation for DoE and TSC,” PM O’Neill said.
