By: Precious Mills

BASSETERRE, St.Kitts-Teacher Valencia Kelly might have spoilt her possibilities of gaining employment through the Ministry Education because of her recent protest outside Government Headquarters  on World Teachers Day (Thursday 5th October), according to her.

In an exclusive interview with this media house, she named a top official from that ministry who allegedly informed her that she has ruined her chances of reentering the education system because she chose to protest.

As gathered, Kelly was the one who contacted that individual via phone in her ongoing efforts to get a job. However, she is now claiming that she no longer plans to continue with that job hunting route.

“I got some terrible news this morning from [named official) who let me know that I so called ruined my chances by protesting on the 5th of October. He said he does not have anything to tell me so I give up on trying to return to the civil service as an educator with the Ministry of Education,” she told this reporter on Monday 16th October during the interview sought by this media house.

Commenting on why she protested that day, Kelly explained:

“I decided to protest because I thought myself unfairly treated by the Ministry of Education and the officials with whom I collaborated in trying to obtain a post, as a coordinator of Modern Foreign Languages and also to return to the civil service as an educator in a high school if the creation of that post is not possible.”

She continued: “I’ve been trying to collaborate and cooperate for quite a while now.  I even received a possibility of attending a new teacher’s course and induction workshop in 2015 where I obtained an interview and it went very well with [named official] and she indicated that I did not need to continue the course because I was already a teacher and I already did nine years in the civil service with the ministry of education. However, I was not absorbed into the system at that time and I kept on communicating with them, trying to create the post as a coordinator or still to return to the civil service to obtain some sort of post in a high school.”

She highlighted that every time there was a vacancy, she had to find out from other people.

“They did not accept me for any posts whatsoever and this year I learnt that there were new posts available. They took on new persons in modern foreign languages and those persons are not as qualified as I am nor as experienced. They, in the Ministry, have chosen to keep me as an outcast in my own discipline and are just giving me the run around or brush off once again. So that is why I decided to protest,” she added

Asked why she thinks she has been met with such challenges, she talked about being victimised.

“I think that I have been receiving this treatment because of victimisation. I do believe that in this country word of mouth  does a lot of harm to people rather than actual facts and when it comes to me in my case, there has been a lot of lies told about me  and my professionalism. My results over the years have spoken volumes but at each turn there has been someone to discredit me, trying to make it look like they are the ones doing what I do in terms of my work.”

Kelly stated further: “When it comes to my qualifications, I am one of the higher qualified teachers in the Federation in modern languages that is. I do have a Master’s Degree of one year and 18 years in the discipline. However, some of the teachers who are there now have been discrediting me because of their own grudge or envy of my performance over the years and have been trying to make it look like I don’t know what I’m doing but every time I do something it seems like someone wants to take credit for it or get to use my work; some of whom have been my students as well over the years.”

“It feels like the job that I’m trying to create as coordinator of foreign languages somewhere along the line, somebody got wind of it and I did speak to other teachers about it and they want it for themselves but because they have the upper hand to speak to whomever and they are the ones working right now, I do believe that somewhere along the line, some lies have been told to discredit me,” she noted.

Kelly informed that in 2014 she left a post given on the sister isle of Nevis because of some difficulties she encountered.

“I went over there with the best intentions and just received a poor negative attitude from some of my coworkers and some of my work was sabotaged or whatever it is that I needed to do, it was met with some opposition and a bit of negative attitude as if I wasn’t supposed to be there. So it’s things like that why I decided not to stay over there because I did feel like my endeavour was going to be sabotaged. So I decided to come back over and try to get an opportunity over here in St.Kitts where I am from originally and where I intend to stay in order to find full time employment. It just felt like it was a waste of time to go over there and to face the same attitude from people who I didn’t even know. I was frustrated and I left the frustration only to come back over here and experience the same thing.”

As to how she feels about the situation, she expressed her shattered emotions whilst indicating “I feel gutted, sicken to the depths of my soul because of the injustice that has been done to me and other people I’m pretty sure.”

In accordance with her: “It is as if somebody gutted me because my whole life, my whole endeavor in my professional life has been stolen from me. It has and I feel as if it doesn’t make sense to work with them anymore that’s why I gave up. It doesn’t make sense because at every turn, every time I try to obtain something, collaborate or try to produce something, I am being made to look as if I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve been discredited as if I don’t matter. That is why I had to protest and make people know that yes I am here, I exist, I matter; everybody matters whether you have money or not, whether you voted for Labour or PAM or Unity or not, you matter. That was my plight on October 5th when I protested to let people know these things are happening and it’s not right and I don’t have to do anything necessarily to deserve it. It is a spirit which speaks of iniquity because it is not for my wanting to do something good but it is because of the negative that dwells in other people.”

Kelly also told that she has applied for a job elsewhere at an establishment in Basseterre and is awaiting feedback.

Additionally, she shared her intention to remain in the academic field of work saying: “I’m still an educator. I’m not going to stop teaching. I’m going to continue offering my services to the public whether young students or adults alike.”

As to whether or not she is willing to work with the Ministry of Education once again, Kelly has stated that “the only way I’ll be working with the Ministry again is if they offer me a letter, a public and official letter of apology because it is wrong on their part, not mine.”