SEA performance bigger crisis than price of Oil

This was the position Dr Lovell Francis, Minister in the Ministry of Education, shared in his feature address at the opening of the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago’s new, main campus on Pierre Connector Road in Chaguanas.

“After our last examination we had between 2,500 and 3,000 students who did not score over 30 percent in Maths and Language. That is a national crisis, that is a bigger crisis than the prices of oil and gas.” Francis said the subpar performance of 2,500 out of 18,000 students who sat the examination is a “matter of grave concern for” the Ministry of Education.

Another concern he shared was for schools in the coastal regions of Moruga, Sangre Grande, Cedros, and Toco, to name a few, who have consistently underperformed.

Francis did not give an explanation for the underpformance of these schools, but implored COSTAATT to commit to having a presence in these areas to take up “the back end” of the education system so that all persons - especially those who are marginalised by the system - could achieve their maximum potential. “What we are doing now is not treating schools differently but acknowledging that some schools require additional support, additional help, additional screening for students,” said Francis, “and we are putting programmes in place to really ensure that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Francis said the difficult economic times has trained the Ministry’s focus on vital programmes that will have impact on the education system at the expense of more “grandiose projects.” “For example, the School improvement project in Laventille, the Form One project, clinical supervision for teachers throughout the country because we are also assessing the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom.

The things that are required to ensure quality education are what we will do primarily.” The Minister said Education in TT is still “colonial” and it is about time we took off the “colonial shoes” and crafted a system that is suited to us.