Faber Confirms Situation at Gwen Liz; Teachers to be Affected

Minister of Education Patrick Faber confirmed today that a number of teachers will not be returning to the classrooms at Gwen Lizarraga High School. That high school, which falls within his constituency, has been consistently plagued by internal problems and the enrolment numbers have plunged; so much so that only three hundred and thirty students are registered, while forty-four teachers are employed at the school. The minister says that, subventions will be reduced to match the number of students so that the school won’t be able to employ the large amount of teachers. It is reported that as many as seventeen teachers will be affected. Faber says that low confidence in the school has caused the drop in numbers.

Patrick Faber

Patrick Faber, Minister of Education

“I’ve heard that there was some meeting where the board may have said to teachers listen, some people may have to be taken off the roster because of low enrolment. But if that is the case, let me say that it is perfectly in line with how our system works. I have met with teachers; I have met with the wider stakeholder community of Gwen Liz on occasion; I have made appeals publicly. This doesn’t have only to do with Gwen Liz; this is something that I make appeal for all the time. When it is that we destroy the reputation and the character of a school, this is what happens. When teachers go on sick-out and strikes and they call in the media. And I will also put some of this on the media—we put blast on the school about all the situations that are happening and we make it seem like the school is an utter failure, then people lose confidence in the school and that is what has happened at Gwen Liz. We ought not behave now like we are surprised. The performance of the school, because of the situations that existed there, has gone down; parents have lost confidence in sending their children there and so the enrolment has dropped tremendously. And when it is that we have a system that is now financed not by the number of teachers that you have at your school, but by the number of students that you have enrolled or that you are catering for. It is only right that if you have half the number of students, that you should have half the amount of teachers and the school will have to make those tough decisions. That shouldn’t strike anybody as surprising.”