FOR more than a decade, teachers in Trinidad and Tobago have complained of bureaucratic delays within the Ministry of Education, in some cases limiting their upward movement within the teaching service. Few had the courage to challenge the system in court. But Nirma­la Sesnarayan did.

Sesnarayan was, two weeks ago, awarded $800,000 in damages, the High Court finding that her constitutional rights had been violated when she was unfairly denied promotion to Teacher III despite holding the same qualifications as colleagues who advanced.

The court noted that the claimant endured five years of delay, constantly checking on the status of her application, resubmitting transcripts, and even being given false hope in 2015 when she was mistakenly told she would assume duty as a teacher III.