Judge urges TSC to reconsider stance on acting principal’s application

Justice Frank Seepersad. -

A HIGH Court judge has urged the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) to consider its position in a lawsuit filed by an acting principal who is challenging a decision to deem her ineligible for promotion to principal (secondary), despite her having more than the minimum academic qualifications.

The suggestion came from Justice Frank Seepersad at a virtual hearing on December 15. Seepersad had previously granted an injunction which restrains the TSC from filling the vacancy of principal (secondary) at the Sixth Form Government Polytechnic Institute, where Nisha Thomas is acting principal.

“At the end of the day, it seems, for whatever reason, whether it was administrative difficulties, as the claimant says, or misplacement of irrelevant information, a mature position should be taken as it relates to how this moves forward.

“Because, I really do not think that this is a type of matter that should be taking up judicial time for a determination, given the information that is not only before the court, but at some stage would have been before the commission as well, having regard to the various positions that the applicant/claimant would have held.”

At the December 15 hearing, the TSC also agreed to an undertaking which Thomas’s attorneys accepted.

Attorney Aryanta Williams, for the TSC, said the commission was willing to give an undertaking that it would restrain itself from appointing anyone to fill the vacant office of principal (secondary) at the Sixth Form Government Polytechnic Institute until the hearing and determination of Thomas’s lawsuit and that any such appointment, pursuant to regulation 26 of the public service commission regulations as adopted by the commissions, shall cease to take effect upon the expiration of the date of appointment until the lawsuit was determined or the court orders otherwise.

“We wish to give this undertaking because they understand the importance of this matter and that the purpose of the injunction is really to maintain the balance of justice to ensure that it can effectively deliver justice at the final disposition of the matter. However, they believe that because the office of principal is very critical to the school administration, to leave it vacant it could harm the administration of the school, and they believe in filling the office, but in filling it only pursuant to regulation 26, which is an acting appointment.

“It's an acting appointment, but it doesn't give a prelude to a substantive appointment.”

Seepersad had, on December 4, granted Thomas leave to pursue her claim, while questioning the logic of the commission’s stance, saying its decision appeared, at this stage, to “defy logic and common sense.”

According to Thomas’ application, she applied in April for the post of principal (secondary). She said the TSC first notified her by letter dated August 18 that she was ineligible for consideration because she was not “in possession of a bachelor’s degree from a recognised university.” A second letter on October 24 defended the decision.

Thomas argued the findings were irrational, based on an unsupported assumption, failed to consider relevant information and denied her a fair hearing. She is seeking declarations that her legitimate expectation to be considered for the post was breached and orders quashing both decisions.

Thomas, a teacher since 1990, has held the substantive post of head of department since 2013, a role that required a bachelor’s degree. She earned a BA in History from the University of the West Indies in 1994. She has also acted as principal of the Sixth Form Government Polytechnic Institute since August 6, 2021, by TSC appointment.

In April, the Ministry of Education invited applications for principal (secondary) positions. Candidates were required to have at least eight years of post-diploma teaching experience, two years of service as vice principal, a bachelor’s degree in a speciality subject and a teaching certificate. Thomas applied before the deadline but later learned that other acting principals were being contacted for interviews, while she received no response.

Thomas said she misplaced her bachelor’s certificate during a previous master’s programme application and did not upload it, believing the TSC already had evidence of her degree from her appointment as head of department.

When she visited the commission in late August seeking an update, she was told she was considered not to have a degree and that even a replacement certificate would not change her eligibility because the application period had closed. She later wrote to the TSC chairman, explaining that she held both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, and submitted a replacement certificate when she received it from UWI. She also sought assistance from the TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA), which wrote twice to the TSC, as other applicants had also experienced issues with the transmission of documents. One acting vice principal in south Trinidad, who initially faced similar issues, was eventually interviewed, her application said.

On November 17, Thomas was informed that the commission would stand by its decision. Thomas is seeking declarations, orders to quash the TSC’s decisions and for the TSC to reconsider her eligibility and schedule an interview. “There is a limited number of vacant offices of principal (secondary),” her injunction application had said. She is represented by attorneys Ian Roach, Anthony Bullock and Alatashe Girvan.