By Lolita Long , Gleaner US EditorNEW YORK:
THE MORE than 100 Jamaican teachers who have been given termination letters by the New York Board of Education are placing their predicament squarely at the feet of the Jamaican government.
They feel that they are being penalised for leaving.
The teachers were recruited in 2001 and operated with a J-1 visa. However, that visa now has to be converted to the H-1B visa. Part of the change is dependent on the Government sending a 'No Objection' statement, which clears the teachers of all financial obligations.
Some of the teachers claim that they have paid the Government as much as US$9,000 ($540,000) to expedite their applications.
"The Government has let most of us down. Some of us have sent out our letters from August 2002 and we haven't heard from them," said one of the affected teachers.
COMPLAINTS
"I have paid the Government over US$9,000 to pay off my student loan and the Ministry," she said. The teacher, from one of the difficult school districts in Bushwick, Brooklyn, said the money included funds borrowed when she opted out of a three-year bond, after completing only one year.
She said: "I am a young teacher from a rural area (of Jamaica), and I had problems paying back outstanding debt, and since I have been here (the United States) I can pay off my debt," she told The Gleaner.
When contacted yesterday, Education Minister Maxine Henry-Wilson said she could not confirm the claims, adding that she could only speak to specific cases. "I cannot confirm or deny whether what the teachers have said is true or not," she said.
DRAGGING ITS FEET
Consul General Dr. Basil Bryan also disagreed that the Jamaican Government has been dragging its feet. "The Government has been handling the matter in a timely fashion, because we really don't want our people to suffer," he said, adding that "the Consulate has been sent, without delay, all letters that we have received."
Teachers who filed their applications for the change in visa status, and who have been approved, will have to leave the country and re-enter at a later date.
A teacher from Brooklyn showed The Gleaner a copy of the letter that stipulates that she has to take 'leave of absence' and leave the U.S. in 30 days. They will be allowed back in the schools in autumn.
To further compound the problem, immigration officials have drastically reduced the number of H-1B visas from 191,000 to 65,000.
SUPPORT
Meanwhile, Caribbean advocates are trying to drum up support for the teachers, mainly Jamaicans and Guyanese, who will become unemployed by the end of the month. Immigration lawyer Winston Tucker, immigration advocate and head of the Caribbean Immigration Services Irwine Claire, and Hyacinth Spence, former president of the Mico Old Students' Association, are seeking meetings with political and elected leaders.
Claire told The Gleaner that a meeting with Deputy Mayor, Caribbean-born Dennis Walcott, is scheduled for this Thursday. A meeting is also being sought with Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.
