The new academic year began on Monday September 3, 2018 and students and faculty at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) have drawn an anomaly to my attention.
At the Centre for Education Programme (CEP), the course ANTH2001 Caribbean Cultural Anthropology has been timetabled to be taught on Tuesdays by a lecturer whom I shall call AC to protect her identity.
For clarification, Anthropology is the scientific study of the diversity of cultures. ANTH2001 was designed to give students an introduction to the field with an emphasis on the diversity of Caribbean peoples and cultures.
From the very inception, and for the past ten years, all the Anthropology courses were taught by me in the UTT. In fact, the courses ANTH2001 and ANTH3001 (Anthropology of Education) were designed and developed by me, the only qualified anthropologist (Ph.D. University of Florida) in the UTT.
Who is a surplus lecturer?
On May 11, 2018, the Head of the CEP, Dr Judy Rocke dismissed me among eleven lecturers.
My dismissal letter stated that I was “surplus to the requirements of the University” and that my employment was being terminated “by reason of redundancy” due to the “restructuring exercise” of the UTT.
It is becoming clearer now for all to see that by appointing AC to teach the courses – which I taught – I was not a “surplus” lecturer! To compound the issue, my substitute lecturer is not qualified to teach Anthropology. I was, therefore, not “redundant” i.e. no longer needed. The Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act No 32 of 1985 defines “redundancy” as “the existence of surplus labour in an undertaking for whatever cause.”
The Anthropology courses that I taught were also not redundant because they are still being offered to new students doing the Social Studies Secondary Specialization, beginning September 3, 2018. At our dismissal meeting, Rocke told the eleven assembled lecturers that all Secondary Specializations were being phased out. Now we know that it was a lie.
In any case, Anthroplogy is a compulsory course that must to be taken by graduating students before they can qualify to teach Social Studies at CSEC and Sociology at the CAPE levels. This regulation is specified on pages 32 and 33 of the Ministry of Education’s publication, Criteria for Assessment of Qualifications for Teaching at the Secondary Level in Trinidad and Tobago.
Lecturer not qualified to teach Anthropology
Not qualified to teach Anthropology, AC is not to be blamed. I sympathise with her. The tall order was dropped on her shoulders by her supervisor, Dr Rocke, who clearly cannot make rational, sound and sensible decisions.
It must be remembered that it is Rocke who fired lecturers on May 11 without a fair, objective, equitable and transparent criteria. For dismissing lecturers from a public university according to her own whims and fancies, Rocke would be summoned soon to the High Court and the Equal Opportunity Tribunal.
The UTT Academic Policy Handbook stipulates that a Senior Instructor like AC must have a Master’s degree before she can teach a course in her relevant field at the university (Ref. No. AC 26, 2.0). AC has an M.Sc. in International Relations from the UWI awarded in 2004. She does not even have a BSc in Anthropology.
Topics in Anthropology include human evolution, marriage, family, kinship, language, religion, political power, art and aesthetics, and ethnicity and race. In contrast, International Relations focuses on transnational trade, law, brands, certifications, regulations, diplomacy, democracy, immigration, economic growth, small state development, peace and security, and money and finance.
Must publish to teach in a university
AC was a primary school teacher with no university teaching experience before being appointed to teach at the UTT. It is not a surprise to find that a search in the databases ResearchGate, Google Scholar, ProQuest, EBSCO and Academia.edu revealed that she has not published a single research paper, even on International Relations. Writing on the minimum criteria required to be employed in a university, Luanne Kelchner stated that “publishing original research in professional journals” is a necessity (Houston Chronicle, 2018).
Compared to AC, I have published scores of articles in journals and chapters in books, and have eleven (11) books to my name. I have also presented research papers at local, regional and international conferences. My M.Phil degree is in the Humanities (Literatures in English) and my Ph.D. is in the Social Sciences (Anthropology). Yet, AC is still teaching while I was retrenched by Rocke.
The Accreditation Council must intervene
The Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago (ACTT) must intervene in this matter. The ACTT Act 16 or 2004 (amended in 2007 and 2008) bestows upon the Council that responsibility.
Section 8 of the Act mandates that the Council should “undertake audits, reviews and evaluations …. to ensure that the quality of all post-secondary and tertiary education delivered in Trinidad and Tobago meets the standards set by the Council.” Section 8, Clause (p) stipulates that it is the duty of the Council “to protect the interests of students and other stakeholders.”
is a full-time anthropologist at the University of Guyana (UG) and Fellow of The Eccles Centre for American Studies, British Library (2022-23). He is a former Assistant Professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). He obtained his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida (UF). As a doctoral student, he won a Florida Caribbean Institute Award, an A. Curtis Wilgus Grant, and an Organization of American States (OAS) Fellowship.
Mahabir received a National Award (Hummingbird Silver Medal) for his contribution to education in his country in 2011. He was among 50 recipients who received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the UWI Alumni Association.
Mahabir is the author of 12 books to date.