Gopeesingh: Garcia in slumber

Addressing a news briefing yesterday at the Opposition Leader’s Office at Charles Street in Portof- Spain were Dr Gopeesingh and former Tertiary Education and Skills Training Minister Fazal Karim.

In light of a Mayaro schoolgirl being beaten unconscious, Gopeesingh told reporters of a raft of initiatives by the former People’s Partnership (PP) government but which have since been discontinued under Garcia’s tenure.

He said these initiatives would have considerably diminished school violence if given a chance, but that Garcia (and Minister Dr Lovell Francis) allegedly cannot manage education. “We call on the Prime Minister to arrest the precipitous decline in education by removing Garcia and Francis”.

Alleging a current reversal of gains made under the PP administration, Gopeesingh said, “You can’t put a woodworking teacher as Minister of Education and expect gains”. Gopeesingh, a gynaecologist, listed 21 initiatives of the PP government that are now in abeyance.

He listed PP initiatives directly for pupils as: more physical education; character education in primary school; more tech/voc education; more boy scouts, girl guides and cadet units; a Mentor- Mentee Programme; student councils; homework centres and Circle of Hope sessions.

Staff boosts under the PP regime include doubling the professionals such as psychologists and social workers at the Student Support Services Unit from 300 to 700; hiring 200 school safety officers; filling dean vacancies; training staff in mediation; and training principals and school supervisors in leadership.

Dissatisfied with the state of these and other initiatives, he claimed a lack of accountability in the management of the Ministry.