The Government may not be able to spend as lavishly as before, but junior Education Minister Dr Lovell Francis says there is no truth in his ministry not being able to pay for items such as security and cleaning.
Included in a discussion between the National Parents Teachers Association (NPTA) and the ministry last week, the T&T Guardian was told that schools have been asking for financial assistance as they have not received grants for several months to purchase necessities like toilet paper and cleaning materials. In some schools where there are private security, students and staff are at risk of being left unsecured.
In an interview yesterday, Francis admitted that there have been problems with releasing funds on time, but the ministry was working on a solution with Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young.
“One has to understand that we’re in a serious economic bind. The budgetary allocation for every ministry has been cut. It comes down to the ministry, the perm secs and the ministers managing the resources available and trying to get the best use out of them.”
“It is not the case that we cannot pay for security, but we have to look at the way we operate the manpower or whatever is needed. We will do whatever is required to manage the system properly. It is not the case that we can’t pay for security or we can’t pay for cleaning. We will not be able to spend as lavishly as we used to but within our constraints, we will operate as we can,” Francis said