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Structures
and functions of the JTA
The
central core of the Association is its membership. Members
have access to all the services provided by the Association
and enjoy direct access to officers on a regular basis
through contact teacher (now acts as a chief delegate)
at the school. Shift schools have two contact teachers.
Contact
teachers are elected annually by members at the school
and hold office at the pleasure of their colleagues.
Types
of Members
Full
members are the largest single category and are teachers
in active service in public and private institutions
approved by the Association. Other types of members
include:
*
Honorary life members
*
Honorary members
*
Associate members
*
Student members
All
members shall have equal rights to the services of the
Association and to the privileges, except otherwise
stated in the Memorandum of Association.
DISTRICT
ASSOCIATION (D.A.)
Next
to the educational institution, the District Association
is the next level of representation of members.
Each
parish is divided into District Associations. District
Associations comprise from 10 - 15 schools and meets
at regular intervals. The organisation structure of
the DA is modelled on that of the General Council and
it is the D.A. that elects delegates to the Annual Conference.
Seventy-four such districts currently exists as follows:
*
Kingston-4
*
St. Andrew-8
*
St. Catherine-7
*
Clarendon-6
*
Manchester-6
*
St. Elizabeth-7
*
Westmoreland-8
*
Hanover-4
*
St. James-5
*
Trelawny-4
*
St. Ann-6
*
St. Mary-5
*
St. Thomas-4
PARISH
ASSOCIATIONS (P.A.)
Each
of the 14 parishes constitutes a Parish Association
with an executive elected annually and, like the D.A.,
is modelled on the central authority. The Presidents
of the Parish Associations and national Presidents sit
on the Executive and General Council.
STANDING
COMMITTEES
The
14 Committees are the functioning policy arm of the
Association charged with the responsibility to implement
policies as dictated in the Articles of Association
or as directed by the Presidency. The Committees are
elected annually by General Council and are responsible
to the President and Council for the effective implementation
of their mandate.
CENTRAL
EXECUTIVE
A
Committee of General Council, the Central Executive
is the only Committee chair by the President. Central
Executive is the executive committee of the organisation
and meets monthly.
GENERAL
COUNCIL
General
Council is the highest decision-making body outside
of Annual Conference and meets every quarter. Its directive
includes representation from all affiliate groups and
organisation, the three national Presidents, parish
and district representatives, trustees, 15 co-opted
members, officers and administrative staff.
SERVICE
OF THE ASSOCIATION
Administratively,
the Association comprises:
i)
Administration and Communications Department
ii)
Teachers` and School Services Unit
i)Administration
and Communications Department
ii)Teachers'
and School Services Unit
iii)Professional
Services Unit
iv)Business
Services Unit
REPRESENTATION
Through
its membership in regional and international organisations,
the JTA is a member of the Caribbean Union of Teachers
(C.U.T.) and Educational International (E.I.), the International
Association of Teachers' Organisation (I.A.T.A.) We
enjoy fraternal relations with the National Educational
Association (N.E.A.) of the U.S.A. and the American
Teachers' Federation (A.T.F.). In Canada, we enjoy relations
with the Canadian Teachers' Federation (C.T.F.) which
has been instrumental in providing attachments and training.
The JTA maintains good relations with the National Union
of Teachers (N.U.T.) in Britain and the Swedish Teachers'
Union, Loranforbundet.
Nationally,
the Association is represented on the Joint Board of
Teacher Education (J.B.T.E.) U.W.I., the National Council
on Education, established through the lobbying efforts
of the Association; the Teaching Service Commission,
Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (J.C.T.U.) and
scores of the national and private sector bodies. This
broad representation ensures that the views of teachers
are taken into consideration in policy developments.
In
the education sector, the Association enjoys a positive
working relationship with the Ministry of Education,
Youth and Culture. A monthly meeting between the Association's
officers and Administrative Staff, led by the President
and the Ministry's Team, led by the Minister, focus
on educational issues and policies. These meetings are
complemented by meetings of Technical Committees, which
deal with the many daily issues and concerns of schools
and teachers.
FUTURE
DEVELOPMENTS
The
Association is currently implementing a Strategic Plan.
In keeping with the theme `Reflecting on the Past, Repositioning
for the Future,` the Association will, over the next
5 years, implement structural and organisational changes
engineered to improve the level of service delivery
to its membership, as well as to improve its own capabilities
as a modern and articulate professional body. Membership
will be kept fully informed of these developments, since
it was their input which informed the Strategic Plan.
AWARDS/SCHOLARSHIPS
The
Association annually makes available scholarships to
its members. In order to promote and maintain a high
level of professionalism among our teachers, several
awards are made annually for service to the Association
and to education. These include:
The Roll of Honour Award sponsored by Berger Paints
Limited
*
Golden Torch Awards
*
Edith Dalton-James Award
*
WBC (Ben) Hawthorne Award
*
RC Tavares Award
The
Association also administers scholarships for teachers
sponsored by a number of private sector companies -
Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS), Kingston Bookshop
Limited and Ginn Development Scholarship.
OUTREACH
Like
all public-minded organisations, the JTA is involved
in outreach programmes. The Annual Blue Cross-sponsored
National Primary, All-Age and Junior High Schools' Athletics
Championship is the main programme.
This
year, the Association hosts the 10th Biennial Games
of the Caribbean Union of Teachers (C.U.T) Meet which
will be held at the National Stadium, July 16 - 17,
2004.
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