SOME MEMBERS of the Education Transformation Team (ETT) will not have their contracts renewed when they expire at the end of this month, prompting the Opposition to urge the Government to break its silence on the new developments.

Education Minister Andrew Holness has called a press conference on the status of the transformation programme for this morning.

According to a source close to the ETT, a memorandum was sent out yesterday informing staff members that their contracts have either been extended to March or August, or will not be renewed when they expire at the end of this month.

Members demoralised

They were also informed that some ETT work streams would be mainstreamed into the ministry in January.

The source also said some members were demoralised because there was no longer a sense of security of tenure, and the Ministry of Education officials were not giving the real reasons behind the sudden decision to absorb the work of the team into the mainstream ministry.

"Nobody has said the team has not delivered and nobody has said that the funds have been embezzled, so I don't understand why these sudden actions," the source told The Gleaner.

In a release yesterday, Opposition Spokesperson on Education, Basil Waite, said transformation demands full stakeholder support.

Lack of transparency

"The Opposition is insisting that any attempt to phase out aspects of the ETT, as currently constituted, must be done with full transparency and inclusion of all stakeholders. This objective is not met by having an ETT board that has not met in over one year," said Waite.

"Generally, we are concerned about the lack of transparency associated with this process and, more fundamentally, with the type of change management being instituted to achieve real and meaningful change to education," he added.

Waite said that, while he agreed that some restructuring of the ETT might be necessary to facilitate cost-savings, as there has been some advancement on various initiatives which should no longer reside in the unit, he was concerned that the lack of clarity could have an impact on the transformation process.

"We cannot afford for transformation to be diluted or to lose the necessary support and coverage that will ensure continued momentum behind the various work streams," he said.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com