Mahdia Primary Headmaster takes TSC to court for wrongful dismissal

Last Updated on Thursday, 3 July 2014, 20:15 by GxMedia

FLASH BACK: Students of Mahdia Primary protesting the dismissal of their Headmaster, Wayne Robinson

The former Headmaster of the Mahdia Primary School has sued the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) for wrongful dismissal late last year for alleged unaccountability of school funds and indiscipline.

Through a battery of lawyers, Teacher Wayne Robinson wants the TSC to show cause why quash his dismissal on or about September 24, 2013 should not be quashed on grounds that it was an abuse of process, irrational, unreasonable, unfair, unlawful, unconstitutional, null, void and of no legal effect.

Specific grounds include that the TSC did not afford Robinson a fair hearing of the charges against him, the TSC’s hearing Tribunal was improperly constituted, and that Tribunal refused to hear and consider relevant evidence which the teacher attempted to present at the hearing. Other grounds are that TSC Chairman Leila Ramson was not present during several hours of the hearing, and that the hearing Tribunal exercised its discretion unreasonably, irrationally, unfairly, unlawfully and in a biased manner when it found against Robinson and decided to dismiss him.

Specifically, he stated in an affidavit in support of motion that the hearing was conducted by TS Commissioner Alan Munroe and TSC Chairman, Leila Ramson, He said that Munroe refused to accept or look at sworn statements from persons who had been named in a report that was attached to the letter inviting him to the meeting. He said the “sworn statement directly challenged the allegations made in the report” but Munroe “refused to accept or read the statements and remarked that he had no reason to believe them.”

Robinson, of 11 Miles, Mahdia, recalled that he was summoned by letter dated August 22, 2013 to the TSC hearing on September 16, 2013 to answer criminal matters which may require court proceedings related to alleged misuse of money belonging to others in school and the alleged fraudulent conversion of funds. On the charge of inefficiency, the alleged offences were suppression of school records and inability to meet deadlines. He was also expected to answer charges of alleged frequent absence without permission from the relevant authority and insubordination that amounted to conduct unbecoming of a teacher.

Robinson’s dismissal had sparked off days of protest and a shutdown of the school last year to press demands for his return. The Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) had argued that the Headmaster was being victimised because of his close affiliation with the opposition Alliance For Change (AFC) political party which controls Region 8 where he worked.