Dr Tewarie: We’re poised on a dangerous precipice

Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie Pro-Vice Chancellor and Campus Principal, University of the West Indies, St Augustine said he “would be guilty of evading the truth if he did not acknowledge the many shortcomings in education.” Dr Tewarie made the statement in his address at Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association’s  Teacher of the Year Award Ceremony held at the Cascadia Hotel and Conference Centre, St Ann’s on Friday. He said the evidence suggests that many students, perhaps the vast majority, in the primary and secondary system are deficient in English, Mathematics and Computer Literacy. Worse, they have very rudimentary knowledge of History, Geography and what used to be known as Civics. Even those who come to the University of the West Indies must undergo remedial training in these areas.  He said they are ignorant about their backgrounds and seem to have little idea of where they are going. Sadly, contemporary culture appears to glamourise ignorance. What we have created, he said, is a system that produces a small group of outstanding students and a growing underclass of poorly-trained and prepared individuals.

This, he emphasised, is a recipe for disaster and we are already seeing the impact in our schools and in the wider society. Dr Tewarie said he didn’t want to be an alarmist but “We are poised on the cusp of a dangerous precipice.” It has been estimated that the level of violence in Trinidad and Tobago increased six fold from early 1980 to early 1990 and that those numbers are increasing. There were as many as 4,800 prisoners in 2000, a 31percent increase in the number of prisoners held in jails for the period 1991-2000. It is therefore crucial that we pay attention to what takes place in the classroom, he said. Each child must receive the attention necessary to help him succeed so that the entire education system succeeds.