Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says the education system in T&T is failing students.
The statement was made at the third leg of the National Consultation on Education held at the Magdalena Grande Beach Resort in Tobago yesterday.
Dr Rowley said the consultations were geared at using the opportunities and information derived from the events to examine what the country has been doing. He said the reason for such an event and focus is that it is recognised that Trinidad and Tobago was not doing as well as it should in the sphere of education, as the country was not training well-rounded students.
“In fact as a person who has benefited from serious public policy on education, who has been responsible for a large number of people over a long period of time and who is a citizen of this country, I can say to you that it is my view that our education system is failing, in so far as what we are really achieving is putting our children through school and not educating them,” he said
He said although billions are being pumped into the education sector, society has only been concerned with certification and not education, and the returns are not seen in the human resource of the country.
He said, “If you go a little deeper you will find that that is not in itself a blame-sharing thing, but where we came from in the colonial era to be certified in the small numbers was to advance in life where opportunity was rare, but then we as a people, an independent people, have consistently spent the largest chunk of our budgetary allocation on education and education has changed the lives of every family of this country, but the template has been one about certification and we have gone completely in the direction where it’s about getting a certificate, to the point now they are telling you that they can give you an MBA in six months and then you go and roll it out for somebody to employ you, a lot of false papers washing in Trinidad and Tobago, with uneducated people, and worse, a lot of money is spent on education, but we don’t see commensurately the educated returns for that expenditure” he said
The Prime Minister compared T&T’s educational model which is copied from the British system with that of the United States and Canada, noting that all stakeholders are needed to assist in the transformation of the education sector
“The average citizen has to look for more in education, the teachers who teach have to teach more than what’s coming for exam and the students who come out from school have to come out benefiting from a moulding that sets them on a pathway for life,” he said
Meanwhile, president of the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Devanand Sinanan believes the education system in the country needs more than tweaking. He said a system is needed to cater to the diverse needs of each child despite their socioeconomic background.
He said, “We cannot afford to continue to perpetuate a system that prevents thousands of students on an annual basis from becoming decent, productive citizens. Unfortunately, as a people, we are very often afraid to think in revolutionary and unorthodox ways, because maybe we ourselves are products of an education system that discouraged and in some cases killed creativity. It is not surprising that the ideas coming forth thus far only seek to tweak the system, rather than promote a total revamping process.
“We cannot afford to be left with more of the same. Currently it is inadequate, we need surgery.
“We may have equality of opportunity, but we are still striving for equity.”