Manning promises free tertiary education by 2008

GOVERNMENT aims to provide free tertiary education for all by 2008 and to have universal access to pre-school education by the year 2010, while school discipline will be dealt with by a joint action plan between the Ministries of Education and National Security. In the interim, more early childhood care and education centres (ECCEC) are to be constructed, there will be expansions of the school feeding programme, GATE, and the textbook rental programme to include books for the blind, and more schools are to be constructed. The measures are part of government’s 2004/2005 fiscal package as announced yesterday in the House of Representatives by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Patrick Manning. Manning has allocated $3.1 billion for education. He said by making tertiary education free for all by 2008, government intended to achieve a participation rate in post-secondary and tertiary education of 60 percent by 2015.

He said, “The objective is that within the next ten years, 60 percent of our secondary school graduates will proceed to attend university level or post-secondary level institutions.” The rate he said, was five times the current level of participation in tertiary education, and will place this country on par with countries in Europe, North America and the Far East. Manning said 43 ECCECs are to be constructed with the objective of attaining universal access to pre-school education by the year 2010. He said the National Curriculum Council, which was established to review and revise the curriculum, would recommend curriculum policy for all levels of education. On school discipline, Manning said a joint plan to deal with the issue will be formulated by both the Education and National Security ministries and as a direct result the Cadet Corp, Scouts, Girl Guides and other such programmes are to be expanded. Manning also said, “Research, development and evaluation committees have been put in place to assess and make recommendations for the development of a textbook industry.”

With 161,000 students currently benefitting from the textbook rental programme, Manning said the proposal in the new fiscal year, “is to distribute 400,000 textbooks on loan,” and to extend the programme to include large print copies for the blind. Regarding the school feeding programme, the PM said 95,000 lunches and 30,000 breakfast meals are to be distributed. The programme was also expanded last year Government is also pursing a “total infusion of technology into the system,” announced Manning. He said 3,000 computers are to be distributed to primary schools and promised the establishment of information technology units in each educational district and the implementation of a wide area network connecting all schools.
In terms of bringing about greater efficiency in the management, service delivery and governance of the Ministry of Education, Manning said the local school boards project has been expanded to include “36 selected government secondary schools for a period of two years.” The number of A’ Level places will also be doubled, and as part of the $2 billion school building programme, Manning said the construction of 16 new secondary schools and the upgrade of a 100 others are to take place.

Additionally, 13 replacement primary schools are to be built and ten others are to be upgraded for special children. Although the main campus of the much talked about University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT)  at Wallerfield is yet to be built, Manning said 2,000 students have already been accepted at other campuses. He said over the next three years, the UTT would offer courses in graduate programming in the field of offshore technologies. The degree programmes will also expand to include manufacturing, engineering, computer technology, earth sciences and maritime technologies. Manning assured that this year, the UTT would continue to expand and increase enrolment, with a variety of certificate and diploma programmes, as well as first degrees on offer. He said government had also introduced a Transition Studies Programme under the direction of UTT, to prepare CXC graduates and persons wishing to re-enter the education system for entry into the university’s programmes.

Manning also noted that an increased number of approved programmes and approved private institutions are to be introduced under the GATE programme, and the scope of the grant would also be increased to cater for the additional categories of expenses students normally face. The Higher Education Loan Plan (HELP) will also be launched this year. Government has also reintroduced the National Examinations Council programmes at the John Donaldson and San Fernando Technical Institutes. The Multi-Sector Skills Training (MUST), which started in July, will now cater for those wishing to pursue training in agriculture, tourism and hospitality and the process of manufacturing sectors. Another initiative taken by government was the inclusion of an associate degree programme at the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute, with an enhancement of YTEPP and the merger of the Helping Youths Prepare for Employment (HYPE) and National Skills Development Programme  under the Metal Industries Company.