Youth education isn’t a sports competition. It’s, among other things, a system for promoting national cohesion, national inclusion, national confidence in children, the future of the nation. They all represent team TT .

Children’s success starts with parents and caregivers and, yes, national leaders who have positive future hopes for children and demonstration that attitude in words and deeds.

Confidence backed with support is the game breaker between successful children and unsuccessful.

Similarly, confidence backed with support is key in commercial enterprises.

Every year the media interview top exam-scoring SE A, CSE C and CAPE children. National leaders shower praise on a handful of those students. They never seek to interview middle performers or low performers or under-performers.

So the nation never hears about the challenges, fears, emotional turmoil of these, the majority of children.

That discrimination helps the education system to cover up its many flaws.

And so, nothing out of the ordinary is done to raise the quality of less desired schools. And nothing out of the ordinary is done to turn inhospitable schools into learning institutions exuding high education standards.

The low-standard, backward secondary schools of the 1980s and 1990s continue in their infamous fame in the 2010s. Billions of dollars in public expenditure have not upgraded the performance standards of those schools. Under-resourced primary schools of yesteryear still wrestle with not enough in 2017 and are dimly judged in spite of their obvious handicap.

B JOSEPH via email

However, a third man is now in custody.

Newsday understands the man, aged 19, is expected to be placed on an Identification Parade sometime later this week. He is being kept at a police station in Northern Division.

Police sources last night confirmed that a 24-year-old Arima man and a 25-year-old Sangre Grande man were released after the 19-year-old was arrested. On Sunday, attorney for the Arima and Sangre Grande suspects Fareed Ali complained that his clients were being abused and denied their basis rights while in custody.

On June 28, the bodies of 57-year-old Mohammed and schoolboy Vedesh Subar were discovered by Mohammed’s husband at their (the Mohammeds) Ajim Baksh Trace, Malabar home. Both their throats were slit.

Top seeded Lawrence defeated Shauna Valentine 7-5, 7-6, while second seeded Abraham was a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 winner over Cameron Wong in the other semifinal. The top two seeds in the boys Under-14 singles advanced in constrasting styles. Number one seed Kyle Kerry cruised into the final with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Luca Shamsi.

Ethan Wong, ranked second in the draw, was made to work for his victory.

Wong won the first set 6-4, before Charles Devaux won the second set 7-5.

In the Super Tiebreak, Wong prevailed 10-8. The tournament continues today from 9 am.

SELECTED RESULTS: SINGLES Boys Under-10 Semifinals James Hadden def Alexander Merry 4-2, 5-3 Kale Dalla Costa def Isaiah Boxill 5-4, 4-0

Boys Under-12 Semifinals Tyler Hart def Jamal Alexis 4-1, 5-3 Nicholas Ready def Thomas Chung 5-3, 4-0

DOUBLES Boys Under-12 Semifinals Sebastien Byng/Zachery Byng def Nicholas Ready/ Jamal Alexis 1-4, 5-4, 10-3 Tim Pasea/Beckham Sylvester def Tyler Hart/Lorcan Chan Pak 5-4, 5-4

Boys Senior Semifinals Aidan Carter/Nkrumah Patrick def Nathan Valdez/ Sanjeev Seenath 6-0, 6-0 Brandon Gregoire/Nabeel Mohammed def Keshan Moonasar/Samuel West 4-6, 7-6, 10-4

Girls Senior Semifinals Maria Honore/Chelsea Mukerji def Victoria Koylass/ Stephanie Sirju 6-4, 6-1 Kimberly Sabga/Yin Lee Assang def Aralia Blackman/ Sarika Seenath 6-1, 6-1

The election of a new executive occurred at the end of June, during which Arima businessman Reval Chattergoon was elected as president replacing Winston Boodoo who served the organisation in that capacity for two years.

The ABA said, “In outlining his past years’ work to the membership, Mr Boodoo pointed to the many achievements during his tenure such as the 2016 lighting up of the Borough, assistance to the Lady Hochoy (Memisa) Home for the differently- abled, alleviating traffic woes and raising awareness of the problematic vagrancy and safety issues.” Meanwhile Chattergoon expressed gratitude to members for his appointment and said he was looking forward to working closely with Arima Mayor Lisa Morris-Julian “with respect to encouraging an influx of new business entities, crime reduction and traffic management” under his theme “Put Arima First”.

The ABA said Chattergoon also aspires to seek better commercial bank rates, group security cost reduction and a more acceptable and practical solution to street traffic congestion and parking, benefiting all businesses and shoppers in Arima and its environs.

Sanjiv Boodhu will serve as the association’s secretary while Brian Astor holds the post of treasurer.

Other members of the board include Christian Rampersad, Richard Smith, Marcia Samaroosingh, Israel Armstrong Jr, Andy Lalla, Angelo Austin, Dianne Alexander and Sudesh Ramkisoon

“Do not expect life to go according to your plans. I am sure you will all experience highs and lows, the difficult and the easy,” she said .

“As you go forward, you will be well advised to define your masculinity in terms of strength, courage, honour, leadership and self control. Notwithstanding, if you are to remember just one thing that I have said today, let it be this, get connected to God. Therein lies your true identity and purpose and ultimately your success.” The minister shared her own story .

“I recall when I graduated from high school and later university, I had some plans for my life. I was going to do this and accomplish that and so on. Although life did not turn out the way I planned, I have no regrets .

Why? I was fortunate to come to the understanding that God had a plan and purpose for my life and have adapted accordingly. By doing so, I have found real happiness and fulfilment.” Critchlow-Cockburn urged the youngsters to thank their parents for helping them towards the milestone of their graduation .

“I expect that many of you are now experiencing a range of emotions: excitement, anticipation and maybe, a little trepidation, as you contemplate what lies beyond .

That is okay .

“Make sure, however, that this afternoon and into the evening, you live in the moment and just celebrate. Celebrate this milestone, this achievement, with your friends, families and teachers.” The minister saluted the graduates’ parents and teachers for their love, patience, dedication and unwavering support .

She advised the boys that when they become grown men not to let the acquisition of material things be to the exclusion of them caring for their wives and children .

“The choices you make now, will certainly determine the value you add to your communities and indeed society as a whole. So choose wisely .

“Today you have taken the first step towards future success for yourself and your families, I urge you to dream big, aim high, make good informed choices, trust always in Almighty God and live your life in such a way that you will have few or no regrets. It is your time to shine. Shine on.”

This is according to Cesar Agurcia, a senior manager for the British American Tobacco’s interests in the Caribbean and Central America who told a recent conference on anti-illicit trade in tobacco conference in Georgetown, Guyana that the illicit economy affects businesses, governments, civil society and individuals.

The conference held on June 29 was sponsored by British American Tobacco, West Indian Tobacco Company, Demerara Tobacco Company and Crime Stoppers International.

Participants which included law-enforcement, industry and customs officials from Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Suriname focused on modern trendsetting tactics and strategies of illicit traders, and key characteristics and tools used by tax evaders attempting to smuggle cigarettes into Caribbean countries.

A release from the West Indian Tobacco said there was need to curb the growing illegal activity.

“This is a national security issue, because it has been globally proven that the profits of illicit trade are going to criminal organisations around the world,” he said.

Darrin Carmichael, consultant for Crime Stoppers International, called on public and private institutions to work together to take swift action against the illicit trade. Crime Stoppers International, he said, “recognises that illicit trade is a growing problem worldwide, be it smuggling, counterfeiting, or tax evasion.” While governments are losing billions of dollars in tax revenues, he said, “Legitimate businesses are being undermined and consumers in all our communities are exposed to unregulated, poor made and inferior products.” Attendees praised the hosting of the event and expressed the need for government and industry officials to work together to tackle the issue.

The organisers of the event voiced their hope that greater relationships would be formed between the customs and law enforcement officials in attendance and that “formal bilateral and inter-customs arrangements can be established to collaborate and share intelligence and track, disrupt, and confiscate the illicit products across these countries.”

TT will play Barbados in Round One at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.

The round-robin tournament features five rounds of matches with matches also being contested at Gilbert Park (Couva), National Cricket Centre (Couva) and at the Queen’s Park Oval (St Clair).

The other Round One matches will see Guyana facing Windwards Islands at Gilbert Park, while Leeward Islands and Jamaica will battle at the National Cricket Centre.

Coach of the TT team David Furlonge said the team’s strength is their bowling.

“We have two excellent fast bowlers in Jayden Seales and Ronaldo Forrester as both of them are also on the Under-19 squad. We also have some good young spinners there.” Top performances from Forrester and Seales will help TT ’s title hopes as bonus points will be given for every wicket taken by a fast bowler. Mbeki Joseph will captain the TT team, while the quartet of Avinash Mahabirsingh, Leonardo Julien, Leonardo Francis and Tobagonian Joshua James are the returning players from 2016.

Furlonge said the team that is the most prepared will lift the title.

“We will all start off as equals.

They are all young teams, but the team that is prepared the best I think will come out on top.” Furlonge said playing at home is a plus as some players on the team are familiar with the venues being used in the tournament.

“We are playing at the Brian Lara Academy (today) which will be new to both teams, but then we play at NCC and at the Oval.

We have been able to get practice matches at both those venues. A few fellas play club cricket at Gilbert Park, so yes the guys should be accustom to the conditions.”

TT SQUAD: Mbeki Joseph (captain), Leonardo Julien (vice-captain), Tariq Mohammed, Avinash Mahabirsingh, Nicholas Ali, Jayden Seales, Giovanni Letren, Michael Ambard, Sachin Soodeen, Sameer Ali, Ronaldo Forrester, Leonardo Francis, Rivaldo Ramlochan, Joshua James; David Furlonge (coach), Surujdath Mahabir (manager).

FIXTURES – Today: TT vs Barbados, Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA), Tarouba; Guyana vs Windward Islands, Gilbert Park (GP), Couva; Leeward Islands vs Jamaica, National Cricket Centre (NCC), Couva.

Thursday: Windward Islands vs Barbados, NCC; TT vs Jamaica, GP; Leeward Islands vs Guyana, BLCA.

Saturday: Barbados vs Jamaica, NCC; Windward Islands vs Leeward Islands, BLCA; TT vs Guyana, Queen’s Park Oval (QPO), St Clair.

Sunday: Leeward Islands vs Barbados, NCC; Guyana vs Jamaica, QPO; TT vs Windward Islands, BLCA.

July 18: Guyana vs Barbados, GP; TT vs Leeward Islands, NCC; Jamaica vs Windward Islands, BLCA.

Speaking at the project’s launch at the Hall of Justice in Port-of- Spain, Archie declared, “Whether the child is a victim, the witness to or the perpetrator of an offence…a juvenile justice system that is predicated on the specific remedies in the child’s best interests and welfare must also provide the structures and approaches to meet each child at their point of need.” Observing that courts must be both punitive and rehabilitative, Archie said, “children who commit offences are not sufficiently psychologically mature to appreciate the consequence of their actions and their impact on their victims and the wider community.” He also noted there has been “legally sanctioned discrimination against children based on their status of being a child.” Referring to a category of offences called status offences, the Chief Justice said if these offences were committed by adults, they “would not be considered an offence.” However Archie said he was happy that, “all of that is changing.”

He was confident that the new Children’s Court will, “incorporate rehabilitative programmes with the aim being to treat, restore and reintegrate child offenders.” Archie said the public will also see programmes focusing on issues such as juvenile involvement in gangs and high risk child offenders. “This is really a first for the region,” he added.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said under Archie’s leadership, there has been yeoman service in the creation of this project. Noting that Archie’s workload is “beyond measure,” Al-Rawi said,

“ We often see some of the most difficult things portrayed in the news but we don’t often stop to celebrate the very excellent work that was done.” The AG said 18 pieces of legislation have been amended to deal with issues pertaining to children and “we have a second pass to take in September.”

However Al-Rawi said even if laws are amended to deal with systemic issues in the justice system, “if they don’t work in a system that functions through the pure application of common sense,, then really just spinning the proverbial top in mud.” Acting Police Commissioner Harold Phillip also hailed the project. Phillip said it provided a platform for the police to collaborate with other stakeholders in treating with youth crime and violence. He said there are currently112 active police youth clubs with 11,500 registered members in TT.

Laying the current demise at the feet of Cricket West Indies, Rowley said nothing proactive was being done to salvage the situation but rather, administrators were simply hoping for a “miracle” in order to turn things around.

“My perspective is that West Indies cricket is in dire trouble, in crisis, and if we are not careful, something is likely to happen in the not too distant future even though it is not being spoken about now,” Rowley told I-Sports radio programme at the weekend.

“I don’t know that the ICC (International Cricket Council) will continue to put this sub-standard West Indies team to play against the top five or six teams going forward into many more years.

“What I am frighten of is that somewhere in the not too distant future common sense will prevail at the ICC and they will create some kind of a premier league and a second division and West Indies cricket will end up in the second division because of the standard we are displaying and we will end up playing cricket against Ireland, Scotland, Kenya and Afghanistan and that is where we’re headed.” Rowley was speaking against the backdrop of the CARICOM Head of Government summit in Grenada last week when West Indies cricket emerged as one of the hot topics.

CARICOM chairman, Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell, used his opening speech to outline the challenges facing the sport regionally and to urge fellow leaders to find consensus on the way forward.

Rowley agreed with Mitchell that CARICOM had a vital role to play in helping to overhaul the sport especially since CWI seemed unable to find solutions to the current crisis.

“They believe that some miracle will take place and some superstar like Brian Lara or Andy Roberts will appear from the crowd and pull us back from this brink,” Rowley said candidly.

“But in the meantime we are handling large sums of money from the ICC, unearned money, and those monies are used to strengthen people who are in office, who literally dominate the game, not on the field but in their boardrooms.” The debate over West Indies cricket also appears to have caused a rift in CARICOM with Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne openly disagreeing with the regional nation grouping’s position on the “immediate dissolution” of CWI.

In a statement last week, Browne said: “Antigua and Barbuda as a matter of principle does not interfere in the internal affairs of institutions, and governments that are governed by democratically elected officials.” But in dismissing that argument, Rowley said Browne seemed to have “anchored his position on some discussion about democracy.” “We here in Trinidad and Tobago know that does not apply and that’s what in the court in Trinidad about the absence of democracy in the selection of leadership,” Rowley stressed.

He, however, conceded there was disunity among CARICOM on the contentious topic.

“I think there is tremendous confusion about the way forward,” said Rowley.

“What is happening at the level of heads at CARICOM should make it clear to the other people that the game is now and the management and the situation is threatening to destroy CARICOM itself.” (CMC)

Stewart arrived in England on Sunday and is looking to make a big impact at the Championships, which is the second biggest event after the Paralympics, but only consists of track and field events.

Stewart said this is his second time participating in the Games and will be vying for honours in the shot put, javelin and discus.

Although he has trained hard for each event, he is expecting major success in the shot put.

“My expectation for this game is to break the shot put record __ that is definitely the event I’m focusing on because it’s the first time I’m doing it at the international level as a Para-athlete.

“I believe my effort will make me return with multiple medals.

“I feel certain to bring gold in the shot put event but I can’t say what other colours I will bring in the other events.” Stewart, who bagged two medals at the Paralympics – gold and silver – said he has not had the best of preparation but has made the best of the circumstances.

“I haven’t been getting much competition or training home because the stadium was closed for two months before I left to travel to London, and it was a bit tough on me.

I don’t want to say that would be something that would hamper my performance but on the day of competition, I’m going out to do my best.” Stewart will be without his coach Wade Franklyn as he will be heading to the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas with CARIFTA U-17 javelin record holder Tyriq Horsford.

Stewart, still disappointed about the lack of support from the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) after winning gold and breaking the world record twice in one night at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio, hopes another gold medal and record will change that.

“I thought after my performance in Rio things would have been better for me this year but I guess I was dreaming.

“Things did not happen the way I hoped for it to happen when I returned after bringing home a gold medal for my country because training equipment and training facilities were not offered.

“I was not told, ‘Akeem you will get all you need so we want to see you continue to perform’.

Things was not like that, all the expenses, I covered them on my own.

“I had to spend my money for physiotherapy, I guess it’s all a part of this game and I can’t complain because when I do, they’ll say I’m complaining too much.

“I am an athlete and I’m sacrificing so much, I should have expectations of something coming to benefit and support me.

I will continue to prove that I am a consistent person because anything I set my mind to I can accomplish it. I know I have a lot to prove this year. Although I know my efforts will not make a change, I’m hoping for one.” He, however, did express gratitude to Peter Granville, Supervisor in the Division of Sport, for some assistance towards helping him get ready for the Championships