NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Acting Director of Education Dominique Russell yesterday said that the Ministry of Education (MOE) is pursuing ways to cut down on the number of outstanding stipends owed to teachers working for the government in the family islands.
Russell confirmed 19 teachers are set to receive payments this week that was owed from this August.
In response to the Bahamas Union of Teachers President, Belinda Wilson, who heavily criticised the MOE for the backlog, Russell said that the payments are expected to be made this pay period.
“Today is payday. I have not gotten any calls as yet. So I’m assuming that all of those persons would have been paid,” Russell said.
The Acting Director added that the documents for those persons who would have needed money for the rental assistance were already sent in.
“We would have sent on all that information to our accounts area and they would have advised us that those persons would have been paid, and so today is the day, and so hopefully we will not get anyone calling us back, but if we do, we will mitigate.”
Last week, BUT President, Belinda Wilson criticized the slowness of the MOE, saying that their accounts and human resources department are greatly at fault for the backlog of funds. On Monday, she confirmed that some of the teachers would have received the money owed.
“I’ve been communicating with education every month to ensure that these payments are made. So today, several of them were paid. However, there are others who still have rental allowance owed to them.”
Russell added that one of the reasons for the delay was due to shortages in those two departments and that two people have been added to their accounts department, she explained that they are currently in the process of recruitment and interviewing to fill the vacant posts.
“Well, based on my two months here, I can say to you that we have a staff shortage, in H.R. and in accounts, […] I think we brought in one or two persons in H.R. just recently. We have to increase our resources so that we are able to meet the needs, you know.
“Our needs have out, run us, and of course, we have been behind in terms of our staffing, and so we have sought to address those needs, but we still need more persons.”
Russell said that another issue among others, for the setback, was the means of receiving the documentation for proper filing and records.
“In regards to receiving the agreements, the rental application of rental agreements. And we also had delays in getting the letters. They’re posting letters, and they’re reported for duty letters back from their principals and district superintendents. And so there were myriad of reasons why we had the delay including the staff shortage in the accounts area,” Russell said.
Loading ...
