The Ministry of Education’s National Education Policy 2023-2027 requires that parents or guardians apply to the ministry for permission to homeschool a child of compulsory school age.

Since there was no such policy previously, parents could choose whether to inform the ministry that they were homeschooling their children.

Now, parents and guardians are not only expected to apply for approval annually but if the application is not approved, the Education Minister will facilitate placement in a public school or the parents can register the child at a private school registered with the ministry.

If requested by the ministry, the parent is expected to submit an end-of-year report. They are also expected to submit to virtual or in-person visits by ministry officials to ensure the care and protection of the child and, if the child is on probation, observe classroom instruction.

If a child is evaluated using ministry-approved standardised assessments and found to be functioning at a lower level than expected, the Chief Education Officer (CEO) could advise the parent on an adapted curriculum and the child be placed on probation for one term.

At a town hall meeting, part of the MOE’s National Conversation on Education – EdU Talk Forum, at Carapichaima West Secondary School on Tuesday, social activist and former UNC candidate for Diego Martin West Marsha Walker objected to the policy.

She said it was unconstitutional as parents and guardians had the right to provide a school of their choice for the education of their child or ward and that they had never been subjected to standardised testing before.

Responding to Walker, CEO Dr Peter Smith said there was a need for the ministry to monitor homeschooling.

“In fact, in the Education Act, it does make mention of homeschooling, giving the prerogative of the Minister of Education to ensure that is carried out properly.”

The moderator, acting School Supervisor Two Allan Ramdeen, added that homeschooling increased “dramatically” during the pandemic so there was a need for a policy to guide it and help people to understand what was expected.

Walker said she would not write to the ministry to inform it she was home-schooling her 14-year-old daughter. Instead, she said her lawyer would write a letter.

“I do not intend to be subjected to any standardised test or any of it. So I want to know, am I breaking the law? Or is it a guideline? What is it?”

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said it was just policy and amendments to the Education Act would deal with laws and penalties. She said the policy was in the best interest of the children and was not meant to be punitive.

In a press release, president of the Homeschool Association of TT, Rodney Rajkumar, called on the ministry to redo the process and include the input of homeschooling policy experts and members of the homeschooling community.

He said the homeschooling policy of the ministry’s National Education Policy 2023-2027 was very similar to the 2021 draft, which he described as appalling, saying