Kingston High to withdraw termination letters issued to teachers

The Board of Management at Kingston High School is set to withdraw termination letters it had issued to a number of teachers at the institution following concerns raised that the board did not demonstrate proper due diligence in the separation process and did not adequately communicate the decision to end their employment. Board Chairman Carlton Samuels says the move follows last Wednesday’s meeting between board members and officials from the Ministry of Education to whom the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) had filed a complaint over the matter. Samuels clarified that 12 teachers had been issued termination letters based on assessments of their performances, with one having since resigned.

READ: ‘Deeply troubling’: JTA alarmed as 15 Kingston High teachers get termination letters However, he said the board missed the required notice period for the separation by about two days, resulting in the move to retract the letters. “The regulations say that when a teacher is considered ineffective or not up to scratch, you must show that they have been assessed and give them at least a month’s notice that they will be terminated. Quite frankly, we missed the notice period by about two days,” he said, adding that the notice delay was due to difficulties accessing the teachers’ records. One of the termination letters seen by Observer Online was dated October 8, 2026 and stated that the teacher’s employment would end effective October 31, 2026. According to the Education Act Regulations 1980, where the board intends to terminate the employment of any teacher in that institution other than a teacher employed on a provisional, temporary or acting basis for more than one year, disciplinary action ought to be taken against the teacher and the matter referred to the board's…