Education officials scrap lunch break cut

The stakeholders, involving the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA), National Parent Teachers Association (NPTA), Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools (APPSS), Association of Principals of Assisted Secondary Schools (APASS), and National Primary School Principals Association met yesterday with Minister of Education Anthony Garcia, Minister within the Ministry of Education Dr Francis Lovell, Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan and other senior education officials at the Ministry of Education in Port-of- Spain where the issue was discussed.

Representatives of the various associations all expressed satisfaction with the tone of the meeting that brought them all together under the aegis of the ministry.

The TTUTA and NPTA were against the suggestion. Both APPSS and APASS said that solutions to indiscipline in primary school will benefit the secondary system into which the primary school children go. Garcia told the media that reduction of the lunch break was not the only issue discussed.

They took the opportunity to look at other ideas and possible solutions to the issue of supervision during the lunch break and how to reduce indiscipline.

The ministry, he said, has already noted the decrease of incidence of violence in schools but there was need to eradicate the problem from its roots.

For this to be successful, he said, all must engaged.

At the level of the ministry, Garcia said, an enhanced system of supervision from the principals, deans, heads of departments and individual teachers is currently in place.

“We also want to ensure that our students are involved in extra curricular and co curricular activities, that is why it is stated that the lunch hour was of vital importance,” he said.

The ministry has also set up a number of workshops involving parents.Garcia said the intention is to ensure there is a parent teachers association or parents support group.

In cases where students are continually deviant in their behaviour, Garcia said, they will be referred to learning enhancement centres (LEC).

The LEC, he said, has been one of the success stories of the ministry as evidence shows that students on returning to their original schools after spending time at the LEC, modify their behaviour.

Coming out of yesterday’s meeting, Garcia said that based on a recommendation from TTUTA president Lynsley Doodhai, the parties have agreed to meet again to discuss the possible solutions that were put forward to deal with the issue of supervision and indiscipline among other issues.