Salary Issues at ITVET Rectified, Says MoE Official

Today, a Facebook post informed that the ITVET compound on Freetown Road was closed because eleven instructors stayed away from classes after they had not collected their salaries at the end of January. But when we showed up at the institution, we found that while some of the instructors had indeed not shown up, some did and classes were in session for those who were in attendance. The instructors started complaining on Wednesday that the Ministry of Education has not paid them from the start of the school year in September, but they have been getting paid from the school itself. Later on Wednesday, one of the instructors called us to inform that they had all collected their salary for January. The problem with ITVET instructors, according to C.E.O. in the Ministry of Education, Dian Maheia, is a complex one that dates back a while, but that efforts have been made to rectify the problem and that come the end of February, all instructors will start to receive their salary through the Smart Stream system.

 

Dian Maheia, C.E.O., Minister of Education

“It took too long for their contracts to have been signed. In the interim, while the employment process was going on, the institution supported the instructors by providing them advances. We are at this stage now where we have done our best to rectify. We’ve found out where the errors were, we have found out where the omissions were. We’ve corrected those errors. We have made every effort to support the different people who are involved in this process because it’s not just a Belize City IT-VET process. It’s not just a Ministry of Education process. We have other ministries who are also involved, other units of other ministries, and they have also made every effort to be supportive so that we can correct the mistakes that have happened. Now, where we are now with this process is that they have all been added now to Smart Stream. They’ve been added to the ministries – to the Treasury’s   payroll. So they now are going to be paid automatically through the Treasury and not through the school.”

 

Marion Ali

“So from the end of February, everybody should be paid February 29th on time.”

 

Dian Maheia

“Whatever day is the payday. So what I expect is that the administration has found a way to keep everything going because I have not been told that there has been any sort of closure or negative impact to the students that are there.”

 

Maheia informed that there were no classes at IT-VET this afternoon because of a meeting for all faculty and staff.