PHILIPSBURG--Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs has advised Chairman of the board of the National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) Marcella Hazel to “retract” the “unjust” and “unwarranted” dismissal letter served to Director Vernon Richards on Wednesday.

 

Hazel did not respond to several questions posed by this newspaper on the dismissal on Wednesday and again on Thursday.

 

In a firm letter to the board the minister said the dismissal was premature and was also against the country’s labour regulations. The minister was informed about the board’s decision to dismiss the director on Thursday afternoon and is seriously concerned about the matter.

 

“At this point I am of the opinion that this dismissal is premature as the reasons given are unjustifiable and even considered against the existing labour and dismissal regulations. With this in mind, I therefore urgently advise your reconsideration of this decision,” Bourne-Gumbs said in a letter to Hazel on Thursday.

 

The minister said for several months she had been faced with the controversial issues surrounding operations at NIPA and have considered her interventions carefully. She has attempted to facilitate ways to address the issues constructively via the Ministry.

 

“I am hereby advising the board to retract the dismissal letter to Mr. Richards to avoid yet more negative publicity around what I consider to be unjust and unwarranted reasons and the application of inappropriate measures and dismissal procedures.” The minister said she hoped that the board takes her request into serious consideration.

 

The board dismissed Richards via letter with immediate effect on Thursday over “non-compliance” in following the board’s directives regarding an open house set for yesterday, Thursday, amongst other things. In its dismissal letter to Richards dated June 10, the board accused Richards of being non-complaint with its decision concerning an open house dated April 24 and with email instructions and telephone call by Hazel to cancel an “unapproved” open house on June 11.

 

The board also said that Richards failed to provide the board with programme of the open house “for the board to ascertain” if the programme was suitable and proper protocol was in place. The board said too that the Director was non-compliant in providing the board with the list of invited guests and a copy of “the letters of cancellation sent out.”

 

The letter from the board to Richards did not specify to whom the cancellation letters were to be sent out and why.

 

The board also claimed that Richards was non-compliant with instructions from the board regarding “internal correspondences” dated May 29. The board did not outline what those internal correspondences were.

 

According to the dismissal letter, these matters were reasons to call an urgent meeting with Richards on Wednesday, June 10. The board said Richards’ “persistent refusal to carry out a reasonable instruction of postponing the open house scheduled for June 11, 2015, leaves the board with no other alternative, but to dismiss you immediately from your function.”

 

The Institute had planned two Discover NIPA open houses. The first open house set for Thursday for invited guests, businesses and persons from St. Eustatius went ahead and from all indications was very successful (see related story). Another open house is set for today, Friday which would be open to the public including secondary school students.

 

The Daily Herald