By Robert A. Emmanuel (Antigua Observer) As Antigua and Barbuda prepares to host the 8th Council of Ministers of Education this week, government officials will be under pressure to see the return of teachers to the classroom.
On Wednesday, Ministers of Education from across the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) will meet at the John E St Luce Finance and Conference Centre for two days under the theme “Touching Lives through Data-Driven Development.”
However, the government may suffer some embarrassment if teachers continue their industrial action over longstanding issues which have plagued the government for years.
Last week, the Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers (A&BUT) announced that they would return to the classrooms, but will hold a sit-in if their issues are not adequately addressed.
In its press statement dated April 14, A&BUT said it had exercised “great patience with the Ministry of Education.”
“The evidence will show that we have met with their representatives on many occasions and have withdrawn our previous threats of industrial action with the hopes that our demands would be satisfactorily addressed,” the statement read.
