Hazel boasts of education aims

With the Parliamentary debate resuming promptly at 1.45 pm yesterday, Education Minister Hazel Manning took centre stage as she outlined the ministry’s objectives for the next fiscal year.

Among the objectives listed were the continuous increase of security at both primary and secondary schools; the expansion of the school feeding programme; expanding access to adult education; the de-shifting of junior secondary schools; and increasing transportation for children in both rural and urban areas, as well as the disabled. Boasting that her ministry had also increased the number of places paid for at private secondary institutions for secondary school students in the last fiscal year, Manning revealed that greater emphasis would be placed on technical education and tailoring the curriculum to suit the needs of today’s population.

Stating that “chaos reigned in the education system” under the previous administration, Manning pledged that “no child would be left behind,” with the formulation of the National Curriculum Council, which would monitor and evaluate how successful the new programmes are. Teachers can look forward to training workshops which will seek to enhance their teaching abilities, as fostering quality education is the goal of her ministry, Manning claimed. Adding that staff at the Education Ministry were now being trained and sent on courses, Manning accused the former administration of not focusing much attention or funding on improving the qualifications of staff. With the $364 million from the Public Sector Investment Pro-gramme (PSIP), the minister revealed that phase one of the 2003-2006 construction programme would be implemented. This would entail the construction of 29 schools — 15 primary, ten secondary and four sixth form centres. Proudly announcing that primary school children will also be treated to the introduction of the Stern John Football Development Programme later on in this current academic year, Manning said this would facilitate physical education as an examinable subject in the secondary curriculum.

In conclusion, she expressed the belief that because of some of the initiatives of her ministry, each individual was on his/her way to achieving a quality education, and that Government’s vision for 2020 was on its way to becoming a reality. Former Education Minister and Opposition Member of Parliament for Siparia, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, yesterday blasted the Education Minister’s 2004 objectives for the education sector, stating that she had presented a replication of last year’s proposals.