EDUCATION Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly says there is no education sector in the world that is “perfect” though it’s a goal her ministry strives toward.
Gadsby-Dolly was responding to what she described as a “childish” motion piloted by Tabaquite MP Anita Haynes-Alleyne on private members day in Parliament on Friday.
The motion sought to condemn the Government for what Haynes-Alleyne said was its failures and mismanagement of the education system. It also sought to get the Government to immediately implement data-driven measures to “guarantee the successful future development of Trinidad and Tobago.”
The motion cited what it called the government’s failure to maintain school infrastructure, implement data-driven measures to make the delivery of special education more equitable and accessible to the citizenry, and optimise curriculum development to reflect the country’s labour needs.
Before tackling the issues raised head-on, Gadsby Dolly sought to explain that it was impossible to make a flawless education sector.
“There’s no education sector in the world that is perfect. Though we can stand here and describe nirvana, if it was so good, then the UNC had chances to lead the education, and it would have achieved perfection then. And I can assure you it did not achieve perfection then, because...perfection is something we would strive to. And we continue to strive as we work in the education sector.”
Tackling the claim that school infrastructure was not being properly managed, Gadsby-Dolly said if that were true, there would not be any schools currently operational in the country.
She added that on any given day there could be up to six schools experiencing issues owing to factors beyond the her ministry’s control – from torrential downpours that might flood and damage a sewer system, to electrical issues from T&TEC that could trip breakers and require an electrician.
“There’s no way you can simply just fix everything and today say every school is perfect for every student to attend. That’s not reality, member. And even though we would love that to be our circumstances, where is that really possible?”
She said schools would always need repair and, in some instances, the July/August vacation period might not be enough to complete them.
She said that was why repairs were often first assessed, giving attention to those that required more immediate fixes.
“Is that a failure? No member. You have to look at the broader picture of what’s happening. And the fact is, most of our schools are open every single day for the education continuity of our children. Those that cannot be opened? We continue to work on those.”
Rubbishing the claim that Government had failed in providing special-needs education, Gadsby-Dolly said during this academic year, 4,807 such students had been identified – 196 at ECCE, 4,052 at primary and 559 at secondary level.
She said the process was that in term one, special-needs students were identified and in term two, dedicated staff validated data sent by school principals
