ASC lecturers demand better pay

Lecturers at the Antigua State College (ASC) are agitating for salaries befitting the level of work they do at the tertiary institution.
Patrick Simon, a lecturer at the Golden Grove Cam- pus, said that in Antigua and Barbuda lecturers at the ASC and other tertiary institutions are still receiving the same salary as those in the general teaching service.
The educator was interacting with Gaston Browne, prime minister, during a meeting at the college on Tuesday. He said, in other regional countries, lecturers are held in high regard and are remunerated in that way. He also posited that while an educator in the primary and secondary school setting is able to enter the classroom after they are teacher trained, a lecturer has to have the relevant degree for the subject they wish to specialize in.
“As we look towards the establishment of a university campus associated with the University of the West In- dies, I am wondering if the government is committed to looking at remunerating lecturers at market value, based on what we are seeing in other Caribbean countries,” Simon stated.
The prime minister said he was in total agreement with the educator. In fact, he explained that Hyram Forde, principal of the educational facility, brought the matter to the attention of the Cabinet recently.
PM Browne stated that the Cabinet agreed in principle to separate the state college from the rest of the public service.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)