Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald yesterday defended the policy of fingerprinting expatriate teachers and said the process is an attempt to minimize sexual exploitation of children in the public school system.
Fitzgerald said fingerprinting foreign teachers is the only way police can confirm their identities and see if they have a criminal past.
He said the ministry will not hire foreign teachers who do not submit to the background check requirements of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF).
The Employment Act states that no employer can request a worker to provide fingerprints as a requirement for employment or continued employment.
The only exception to this provision includes employers who are licensed under the Lotteries and Gaming Act. The Employment Act also states that anyone who contravenes this provision is liable to a fine of $5,000. Attempts to reach Fitzgerald to comment on the clause in the law were unsuccessful yesterday.
However, he released a statement saying he will "not compromise when it comes to protecting our little darlings and making decisions which are in their best interest".
He added: "All persons who are responsible for our children on school campuses are required to be properly and rigorously vetted by the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Persons employed in public schools are included in a category which receives the most rigorous vetting in the public service for obvious reasons."
On Monday, the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) objected to the fingerprinting of foreign teachers.
The BUT said in a statement that several teachers from C. R. Walker high school were put on a bus and taken to the Central Detective Unit (CDU) to have fingerprints taken.
The union said this process cost $100 per teacher.
On Monday, Director of Education Lionel Sands said the union's concerns about the fingerprinting process violating the Employment Act should be taken up with the Royal Bahamas Police Force, not education officials.
Sands said the Ministry of Education instituted a strict vetting process in 2010 after several allegations of inappropriate behavior and student abuse by teachers surfaced.
Sands said all expatriate teachers whose contracts expire this summer, and who have never been investigated by the Ministry of Education must be vetted in order to be rehired.
He said fingerprinting is required for police background checks, not the Ministry of Education.
Sands said no teacher was forced to provide fingerprints to police.
He said he was told that teachers from C. R. Walker agreed last Friday to be fingerprinted on Monday at the same time to make the process easier.
Sands said the ministry has not coerced any teacher into giving their fingerprints to police, but added that the vetting process is "critical" for foreign teachers.

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