Speaking at the signing ceremony at the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port-of-Spain, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said this consortium will provide a pipeline to channel collaborative activities including the recruitment and exchange of students between participating Caribbean institutions and the Medgar Evers College and other US institutions.

The other universities involved include University of Guyana and EGC Martinique Business School. Garcia said the consortium’s objective is to foster and promote academic collaboration aimed at addressing the economic and social challenges affecting historically disadvantaged people and developing countries.

“And explore and develop new curricula to address the challenges of the changing global environment to serve as a centre for harmonising the efforts of member institutions in the obtaining of the objectives set out and a key driver in all of this is to ensure a Caribbean diaspora fund to invest in education opportunities,” he said.

The minster said the aim of consortium is to establish new programmes relevant to the development of the Caribbean community and the diaspora allowing for articulation student and staff mobility and joint awards.

“It is our desire to ensure that every citizen is afforded the opportunity to improve himself. Be it in the traditional academic areas or the technical vocational field. When our citizens thrive our societies will do well.

This is why it is with great pleasure that we welcome initiatives of this nature which support the development of our human capital.

“As we scan the region, this collaboration will benefit the wider Caribbean as more institutions align themselves to the Consortium creating opportunities for citizens across the region and contributing to its growth as well,” he said. UCIEC Chairman and President of Medgar Evers College Rudy Crew said the consortium was about committing to a set of strategies that are intended to engage and build human capital and share that human capital across the border.

Gloria Chin, 27, of Hackette Extension Road, Navet Village, San Fernando, and Kamal Khan, 26, of Solidad Road, Claxton Bay, were arrested on Friday following investigations into the murder of Alleyne, who is the nephew of Assistant Commissioner of Crime Carlton Alleyne.

The burnt body of Alleyne, 27, was discovered on June 14, 2014, at the dump along Tortuga Road, Foress Park, Claxton Bay.

He went missing from his home at Southern Main Road, Pointe-a- Pierre on June 7, 2014.

Alleyne’s remains were discovered on June 14, 2014, but relatives identified him on June 23 of that year by means of dental records, hair texture and bone fragments from the spine. Alleyne suffered from scoliosis.

Detectives from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region 111 investigated the murder and on Friday last arrested Chin and Khan. Advice was sought from Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Honore-Paul. Yesterday, the two were handcuffed and escorted to the magistrates’ court where they appeared before Magistrate Indira Misir-Gosine, who read the charge to both.

The charge alleged that between June 7, 2014 and June 11, 2014, they murdered Alleyne, at Foress Park, Claxton Bay, Tortuga.

The magistrate informed both accused that the charge was laid indictably and that they were not called upon to plead. Woman Corporal of Police Johnson laid the charge.

Attorneys Gobin Harripersad Khan and Nazima Ali Knox represented Khan and Chin respectively and requested that upon the assigning of a State attorney, disclosures of any statements or exhibits should be made by the next hearing of the matter. The magistrate postponed the case to June 8 and remanded Chin and Khan into custody.

Both are at the core of the “expression” and “understanding” that we have come to accept as indispensable to learning, but the absence of these at the tertiary level is no mystery.

The simple reason for this absence is that competencies in both these areas are acquired over time through cumulative experience in each and you can’t simply hope to be able to “put a proper sentence together” or show competence in understanding a writer’s message or analyse it critically without having been grounded in both over time.

To write proper sentences as habit you will have had to be nurtured in the appropriate language environment, continually so, and this would have had to be reinforced by the mechanics of the language of which Nesfield’s Outline of English Grammar, inter alia, is ample facilitator.

Continuing reinforcement of the rules as in a basic text like Nesfield is key to language development and enough emphasis cannot be placed on the practicum aspect, both of the oral and written, to make “writing a proper sentence” a matter of habit. In time this becomes your personal culture in language of which you will give ample demonstration at the tertiary level.

In terms of cognitive capacity, basic comprehension exercises will provide the grounding but to prepare for the rigour of tertiary education the student must be exposed to the skills of critical thinking, beginning with understanding how ideas may support a central message and correspondingly how to coordinate ideas around a central message.

But the student must go beyond this into applying critical insight to those ideas, determining their merits and demerits.

Knowledge must not be merely accepted but interrogated and this is how students grow and develop through language in a way that is suited for the demands of tertiary education.

It is time that practitioners in tertiary education begin to recognise the need for this basic grounding in language and include relevant courses in their programmes, for no matter how sophisticated their core offerings are, a student without these basic competencies in language can never hope to succeed in a way that is required at this level.

DR ERROL BENJAMIN via email

However, on entering the air-conditioned venue I could not help but smell and see that the place was partially filled with smoke from the grill at the back. Obviously the extractor fans were not working or something else was the cause.

I was tempted to leave as the situation seemed unhealthy, but wanting my burger I placed my order and stepped outside to avoid inhaling the unpleasant smoke.

To my amazement at least 15 people remained inside. They seemed not to be bothered by the smoke.

Nobody appeared to be protesting or complaining like it was the norm. I could only think to myself, “Boy, Trinis could really take a lot yes.” When my burger was ready 20 minutes later (yes, it took 20 minutes), on collecting I was asked if I wanted ketchup. I said yes, only to be given a plastic pack that holds no more than a teaspoon of ketchup. Thank goodness I had ketchup at home, and home is where I went to eat my burger.

Trini people, take a bow for your tolerance but maybe a lot of the inefficiencies in this country is as a result of us taking too much and not complaining and standing up for our rights. This goes for everything. Think about it. Pick sense out of this.

W DOPSON Woodbrook, PoS

The TTMA welcomed the news of what it described as “the establishment of a dedicated foreign exchange facility which will no doubt aid manufacturers in accessing much needed raw materials.” “Whilst there are competing demands for the limited foreign exchange resources available, the TTMA urges the minister to take quick action on this so that the benefits of import substitution and inflationary control can be trickled through the economy.” The TTMA also noted that the manufacturing sector remains a viable option for diversification of the local economy, and a sustainable option toward enhancing economic recovery.

Regarding enforcement of the Property Tax on plant and equipment, the TTMA reiterated “the untimeliness of this tax imposition threatens the creation of an enabling environment for manufacturers, which has the potential to adversely affect the creation of jobs, export revenue and the national import bill.” The TTMA also responded to Imbert’s announcement that there would be “no increase in fuel prices in this Mid-Year Review.” While “maintaining fuel prices could aid in controlling some inflationary pressures,” the TTMA repeated its call for national support of locally produced products, adding that it looks forward to “robust discussions” with Government in the interest of a sustainable future for TT.

There can be only one reason for government: to make life better for the people.

Full stop. There can be no other reason.

So it was with great annoyance that I suffered a huge traffic jam in Port-of-Spain on my way to work Tuesday morning because some “bright spark” had put police to cordon off lower Richmond Street at the height of rush hour because “the Prime Minister was coming (at 11.30 am) to open the new government offices there.” Now, tell me, how did blocking off lower Richmond Street from about 8 am until the ceremony finished at about 12.30 pm make my life better? How was the security for the Prime Minister improved by blocking off the street some three to four hours before he was due to arrive? As it was, an officer in a police car way behind mine decided to muscle his way through the traffic by turning on his siren after he had been stuck in the same jam as the rest of us and obviously decided he wasn’t going to wait.

Waiting, after all, is just for the peasants.

I am absolutely fed up. The politicians on both sides don’t seem to care one jot about the people. All they seem to care about is themselves. So long as they are all right why should they care about the ordinary citizen? We don’t have a functioning democracy. What we have are a bunch of neo-colonialists who have learned the language and mannerisms of our former colonial masters and who continue to impose colonial values and systems upon us, the ordinary citizens.

It was wrong yesterday and it remains wrong today.

ROBIN MONTANO via email

The woman, of Laventille Road, San Juan, appeared yesterday afternoon before a Justice of the Peace in the said courthouse to answer the charge. However, the JP denied bail and remanded her into custody to appear before a magistrate this morning.

Police reports stated, Cpl Crawford and other officers of the San Fernando CID observed the woman wearing a black t-shirt with the word “POLICE” imprinted at the front and back.

The front of the t-shirt also had the TTPS logo and motto. The t-shirt is similar to what police, who are based at the court, wear.

It is alleged that Crawford enquired if she was a member of the police service to which the woman responded in the affirmative.

When asked to produce her police identification, she directed Crawford to her personal vehicle nearby and subsequently confessed to being a civilian. The accused woman also claimed to be an accountant.

Apart from the local female players there are eight West Indies players from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Grenada and St Lucia who will strengthen the franchise teams- TECU Southern Titans, Creation Group Gladiators, KJ Sports Eastern Diamonds and Sacha Northern Starblazers, as they prepare to do battle for top honours in the newly-launched T20 tournament that will be sponsored by Unicomer Courts Trinidad Limited to the tune of $75,000.

Jamaican Shanel Daley and Grenada’s Akeira Peters have been drafted to the TECU Southern Titans which is led by Trinidad and Tobago’s successful captain Merissa Aguilleira and also includes her triumphant West Indies player Britney Cooper. Barbadian exciting opener Hayley Matthews and her WI World T20 winning compatriot Shamila Connell lines up with the Kieron Pollard- owned franchise know as KJ Sports Eastern Diamonds.

Guyana’s West Indies all-rounder Shemaine Campbell and Barbados Shakera Selman will play for the Creation Group Central Gladiators that have West Indies spinner Anisa Mohammed as their captain while Grenada’s Afy Fletcher and Jamaica’s Chedean Nation will show their talents for the Sacha Northern Starblazers.

According to Sururj Ragoonath, TT CB’s CEO, the regional players’ airline return fares and stipends will be sponsored by the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago which will also assist with the tournament. The players are expected to arrive today for training sessions tomorrow and Sunday.

Ragoonath outlined the concept and value of the franchise tournament and thanked the sponsors for their support to help promote women’s cricket in TT .

At the media launch held at the National Cricket Centre, Balmain, Couva yesterday, Roger Rambharose, Unicomer Commercial Director, expressed joy for his Company to be the major sponsor for first-ever women’s T20 franchise tournament in the Caribbean. He expects the tournament to serve as the catalyst to identify and encourage new talented cricketers in the region who will eventually represent the West Indies team.

Rambharose also emphasised the value of their 15-year association with the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and the value of their sponsorship over the years. “This is a most significant event for us, as it celebrates another historic moment in the evolution of Women’s cricket. We have had a long and very fruitful relationship within the cricket fraternity. And this partnership further pushes the envelope for the development of the sport to new heights.

We see this as our investment in building the potential of our people and our communities,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the women cricketers, an emotional Aguilleira was overwhelmed and thanked everyone.

“We are so thankful to everyone, especially the sponsors who have come on board to help us develop our talent and to create new opportunities for women cricketers to be better prepared for regional and international competitions.

We, the players are so excited to play and entertain everyone.

Competition will be strong and already the players are talking up their chances,” an excited Aguilleira said.

We can, with simply one instruction, change the practice of WASA damaging our roadways to a policy of immediate road restoration as part of the repair process.

Instead of spending millions on overpasses to free up a roadway that can never be a highway, we can build a highway just south of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway from the Beetham to Sangre Grande.

We can transform our economy from one that depends on the energy sector to a diverse economy where agriculture, food processing, energy, tourism and manufacturing all contribute towards earning foreign exchange.

Our healthcare can be transformed from an inefficient government facility to a public-private partnership supported by an efficient health insurance system that allows for the best healthcare in the Caribbean.

We can change our structure of education to one geared at preparing our children to face the changes of a developed world. We can move away from a focus on academics to a holistic education package where trade, industry, medicine, sports and academics are combined to produce balance in our education system.

We can fix crime by structuring our policing from the community level where every community is patrolled and known criminals are prosecuted and imprisoned.

We can transform our prisons from a place where criminals are hardened to a place of learning and transformation.

We can manage our communities in a way that allows for growth and development at the community level and reduce the impact of a centralised system of governance.

We can immediately reduce the numbers of hours spent in traffic on our roads by building a rail system through a public-private partnership, privatise the bus service, introduce a school bus service at all our schools and build a new network of roads.

We can stop the alienation of Tobago by seriously considering an underground rail or ferry link from Toco to Tobago. Given the cost of the ferry service, this option will be a cost-cutting measure in the long term.

Yes, people, we can fix TT . The major hurdle is the people. What kind of people stick chewing gum on the turnstiles at their airport immigration lane? What kind of people tolerate the levels of corruption that allow our roadways and other construction projects to cost twice the international rates? What kind of people support a political party for no other reason but race? Who are these people that pee on people’s walls at Carnival, throw their garbage in the waterways and along the sides of the road? What kind of people kill each other by the hundreds each year and take years to bring one to justice? Who are we that depend on “we govament” for handouts from contracts to grants? We occupy State lands with impunity, we protest and “cuss up” the police and destroy our historical sites. We can fix this place but we must change our mindset first.

STEVE ALVAREZ via email

A woman must play three parts in her life: A good daughter, a good wife and a good mother.

These specific duties are expected of her. Only education can help her to discharge them satisfactorily.

Many men spend their evenings at clubs and societies but a gentleman with an educated wife will not feel the need of societies and club. He can share his thoughts with her, seek her advice and spend his leisure hours in her company.

An educated wife will be a good friend, a clever nurse and a useful adviser to her husband. She will be a true helpmate and can retain her husband’s affection and regard.

Education will enable women to make parents, husbands and children truly happy. Therefore, it is paramount that women be educated.

AHAMAD KHAYYAM Curepe