Gov’t to tackle low wages as teacher resignations shakeup education system

By MERRICK ANDREWS
Online News Editor

In light of the “alarming number of resignations” since the start of this school year, Education Minister Sharie de Castro said she is committed to “firmly” representing the views of teachers in relation to the payment of their outstanding increments and the review of their salary packages.

Speaking at Friday’s House of Assembly of sitting, Minister de Castro revealed details surrounding Thursday’s meeting and how she plans to move forward with the feedback she obtained from the educators from that meeting.

“Madam Speaker, on Friday 3rd, February 2022, I received a letter for the BVI Teacher’s Union
regarding the payment of outstanding increments. Upon receiving the letter, I immediately
contacted the union to request a meeting with the intention to hear directly from teachers so that their concerns could be effectively articulated and represented.

“The meeting was held on Thursday, 9th February 2023 and was very productive in achieving the expected outcome and I have committed firmly to representing the views of teachers in relation to both the payment of outstanding increments as well as prioritization of teachers in the compensation review process that is currently ongoing,” she disclosed.

She further stated that the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports met with the consultants spearheading this compensation and reclassification project last Wednesday and articulated the Ministry’s position of firm reconsideration of salaries for educators in the territory as a matter of urgency. On that same day, the minister said she also met with the consultants in her role as a legislator and supported the position of the Ministry in relation to educators.

She said that due consideration must be given to the cries of teachers and the value of
education to the economy of the Virgin Islands, adding that education is arguably the most important profession in our society.

The Ministry aims to build teachers that are highly qualified and adequately compensated, de Castro noted.

At present, she said the territory is losing teachers to other countries and industries due to low rate of pay, the increased cost of living, compensation offered in other countries, insufficient and outdated resources, and a challenging work environment, “just to name
a few”.

She explained: “Case in point, Madam Speaker, in the neighbouring United States Virgin Islands, Governor Albert Bryan recently announced that the entry level teacher salary would be raised to $50,000.00, commencing in August, 2023; our starting salary for a Teacher Grade IV is about $34,600.00.

“Madam Speaker, I implore us all to think carefully about the potential ramifications and impact of such a decision on our education system and, more specifically, our current teacher complement. Consideration for varying approaches to facilitate teacher retention is absolutely critical at this time.

“Madam Speaker, I referenced the change in salary in the USVI; however, in Texas, the largest
state in the US, the starting salary is now set at $61,500.00 per annum, with the entry level
requirements being as simple as the possession of a Bachelor’s degree in any subject area, with
the allowance of one or two years to achieve certification. According to the University of Texas at Arlington, in 2020-2021 academic year, Texas hired a high of about 376,000 teachers, and about 12% left that same year. In addition, more than 8,500 teachers retired in 2021, about 1,000 more than in 2020. This is just a brief example to show where the Virgin Islands has no intention of going.”

The minister revealed that the Ministry has already received an alarming number of resignations since the start of this school year. She said if teachers continue to leave the profession, the immediate and long-term impacts would be gravely felt throughout the territory.

“I ask this Honourable House to recall with me, the impact of the devastating hurricanes of 2017 on the education system of these Virgin Islands. Although our schools were greatly damaged, arrangements were made to ensure the continuity of learning. Even though we all experienced the trauma of the devastation, our teachers were able to deal with their own challenges and those of their students and teaching and learning continued.

“Madam Speaker, in 2020, we experienced the impact of a global pandemic through which our
teachers had to be rapidly trained to use the online platform to continue the instruction of our
students. In addition to that, Madam Speaker, our teachers had to monitor the learning of their own children, while providing instruction to their students, simultaneously.

“Madam Speaker, it would be remiss of me to not speak to higher salaries for teachers when
speaking about the value of education to our Virgin Islands’ economy. The demands on the
educator have increased significantly with regard to professional development, monitoring and evaluation, the initiation of Professional Learning Communities and the implementation of S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) education as mechanisms of upgrading the system and making it more innovative and competitive.

“Madam Speaker, at this juncture, I must emphatically emphasize that, based on these demands, and more, there must be a thrust for higher pay for our teachers. Research indicates that there are several benefits of providing higher salaries for teachers. Increasing the pay of teachers strengthens the pipeline. It is understandable that low compensation for teachers discourages our own from entering the profession. It is my firm belief, Madam Speaker, that raising teacher salaries will improve the quality of our future workforce.

“In addition to strengthening the pipeline, higher teacher pay will keep our teachers in the classroom and decrease turnover. Madam Speaker, the low rate of pay for teachers has led and continues to lead them to consider second and third jobs in order to make ends meet. Madam Speaker, we need our teachers to focus on teaching, on building our future,” she explained.