Teaching union NAHT said its members are eagerly awaiting the results of a review into the department.

The union is also waiting to learn of the outcome of a complaint it made over comments from education chief executive Professor Roland Barr.

Max Kelly, president of NAHT’s Isle of Man Branch told the Manx Independent the union ’had a large attendance’ at a meeting for members this week held to discuss what action it intends to take moving forward.

Members of several teaching unions remain in dispute with the Manx government over pay and conditions.

Having ceased their action due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the unions resumed action short of striking when the schools return after the summer holidays.

Mr Kelly said the union would not, at this stage, be providing an update the situation.

However, he did say: ’Our members await, with growing interest, the outcome of our complaint into the comments made by the chief executive of DESC at a Public Accounts Committee scrutiny session in June, and the publication of the full independent report into DESC as commissioned by the Chief Minister.’

Chief Minister Howard Quayle told Tynwald this week, following a question from Julie Edge (Onchan) that the report is due to be considered by the Council of Ministers tomorrow (Friday September 18).

The NAHT made a formal complaint about Prof Barr after his appearance in front of PAC which also led to Education Minister Dr Alex Allinson offering a public apology for his most senior civil servant.

During a Tynwald scrutiny committee, the professor blamed the ongoing industrial dispute over pay and conditions in part for disparity in remote learning given by different schools and for mixed messages sent to parents during the lockdown period.

The unions described his comments as being ’grievously inaccurate’. He was speaking at a special scrutiny session of the public accounts committee that had been looking at the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.