Education Ministry to save $840m from study leave cuts

The Ministry says 143 out of 560 new applicants have so far been granted study leave starting September.

It says, as a result, there will be no need to hire 417 temporary replacement teachers.

The Ministry says it has been in consultations with the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) about the voluntary relocation to replace some of those who will be going on both study and vacation leave.

Section 63 of The Education Regulations empowers the Minister of Education, at his discretion, to grant a teacher study leave if the course of study is directly related to his work as a teacher.

Addressing the Association of Caribbean Higher Education Administrators yesterday, Education Minister Ronald Thwaites explained that the streamlining of study and vacation leave was part of efforts to release financial resources to be redeployed to needy areas in the education sector.

He urged teachers who have not been granted full-time study leave to utilise distant education and online programmes where possible.

Thwaites said the Ministry of Education has not changed the vacation leave policy.

He said all eligible teachers who have applied for vacation leave, subject to the recommendation of school boards will and have been granted vacation leave.

The Education Ministry and the JTA have been involved in a dispute over entitlements following a May parliamentary announcement from Thwaites that there will be changes because of current levels of unaffordability.