After two years as a Contract Adjunct Teacher (CAJT) I was told in September that it is now named Retired Reemployed Teacher to distinguish from those who chose to continue after reaching their mandatory retirement age of 62.
I believed that the dwindling population is showing its effect. The closure and merger of secondary schools is happening from 2017 onwards, 7 schools announced so far with more to come. There will be excess staff especially teachers. The chosen lucky ones followed their Principals to the newly merged school and life goes on. The 'leftovers' will have to find their next school through the OPEN POSTING exercise in June or wait till the CLOSED POSTING at the end of the year to know their fate. Though my present school is not involved in any merger, the school leaders have been painting to us earlier in the year about the situation and that continuing our career in a Primary school is viable option. This is hard time for these teachers who are suddenly left in a limbo though there is no mention of retrenchment.
The first effect will fall on the older/retired teachers and Contract Adjunct teachers. There is a lesser need for them now. Thus the emphasis on the new terms for the contract. CAJTs are now required to take up roles as Form Teachership, in CCA and in School Committees as they are now ranked in the same pool as full time teachers. Those who left earlier and wish to rejoin the service as CAJT are given a no PB option but NOT applicable to a retired teacher!!
In the new contact, if the retired teacher is given a C- grade (which is quite a fair grade) for two consecutive years, he/she will be served a termination of service notice!!! After that, he.she may not be employed by MoE anymore. In other words, you have to work much much harder in order to save yourself!!!!
Thus for a retired teacher, the safer and less pressurized and only route is to be a Flexi-Adjunct Teacher when you are hourly paid, san year end bonus, san performance bonus, san medical benefits and not paid during school holidays but need not perform external examination duties, attend school workshops/trainings, take up form teachership, CCA........Do you have the energy to do full battleship as a GEO Grade 5 teacher against the younger, hungrier ones for the extra dollars/incentives/rewards after decades in the service??
I felt that no retired teacher should be asking for the extra 'bowls' or free lunch after our retirement from the Civil Service. No need for the PB, However, why take away the stability in the employment which a CAJT offers, instead of 10-weeks of employment which a FAJT is offered? I guess we have no choice in this matter as the situation does not give us hopes of a better deal. However, just like 'cows grazing on an open field', we retired teachers should be thankful for any kind of tidings, doing the work that we always love ie to teach or facilitate learning (that is what is called today), disregarding all the other 'distracting tasks' which bogged down many teachers and which they were complaining about all these years.
Details of the Adjunct Teacher scheme is available online : (4th July 2016)
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
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