SXMElections.com

CAY HILL--A number of National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) students have expressed frustration and disgust at the shortage of teachers for key subjects at the institute, noting that this is affecting their course of study.

"We want improvement and we want teachers. This is not a school, it's a scam," said one irked student. In an invited comment, NIPA official Vernon Richards said "all is being done" to give students "what is due to them and more," adding that "the coming quarter will be the time well spent and they will receive all that is due to them."

Six Social Pedagogical Workers SPW students who approached The Daily Herald said they have been without a Care, Math and Art teacher since April last year. The students, who are in their first and third years, said the care subject is key to their SPW programme and they are quite concerned about not receiving any classes for months.

"What's the point of having a care programme, if we do not get any care classes," said one student. "We had a care teacher in August, in which we had three classes, but then the teacher was fired, although we were told that she had quit," one student said.

"We are supposed to be getting many more classes than we are getting at the moment; right now the first year students are getting six classes and the second year students are getting three classes."

Students said they were constantly told that the shortage of teachers would be rectified next month, on the several occasions that they enquired, but this never happened, which is why they decided to turn to the media to air their grievances. "When we go to the school principal he keeps telling us next month, next month. When we asked him in December he said in January, when we went back this month he said February. It's been like this all the time."

Students also said that they have not yet received their class module on the courses that they are supposed to follow so they have no idea what to expect. "We did not even know we had to get it until we were told by the Inspection Department."

The students had taken their concerns to Inspection last week Thursday where they said they had been advised that in addition to the student handbook with the rules of the Institute that they had received, they were also supposed to have received a class module and various booklets.

Students also claimed that they had been told that the NAf. 900 per year fee will be increased to NAf. 4,000 for the SPW course and NAf. 7,000 for the Nurses programme.

Regarding the institute's tuition, Richards said "as far as NIPA is concerned the present payment is NAf. 900.00 in the region and former [Netherlands – Ed.] Antilles it is much more, depending on the course of study that was indicated to the students"

He said students have been informed that they will be receiving care in the coming quarter from a qualified teacher. "NIPA is providing another math teacher for their programme and other programmes that are coming on stream providing qualified teachers; we at NIPA will have corrected all of the deficiencies that they are complaining of at this point in time and ensuring continuity of the programme," Richards said. "We are ensuring that the students receive qualified individuals."

He added: "Students have received their learning outcomes and we at NIPA can ensure that all of their learning outcomes will be met in the time allotted of the study. NIPA management is ensuring that all is being done in order to give the students what is due to them and more. Therefore the coming quarter will be the time well spent and they will receive all that is due to them."

In an invited comment Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs said via the Press Secretariat that she is currently assessing this situation and will be meeting with the management of board of the school to attain factual information.