HEADS of the denominational boards of education are fearing chaos and anger as thousands of children may be turned away from denominational-run primary schools come the new term in September.
Why? Because of an acute shortage of teachers which is being blamed on no hiring of new teachers by the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) since last October.
Education regulations dictate that there be a specific maximum number of students per teacher across the system. This ratio is one teacher to 30 students from Standards 1-5, and one teacher to 25 students in the infants department.
With such a shortage of teachers, there is the fear that children will have to be turned away when the catchment figure per class is reached.
Heads of the various denominational education boards met on Wednesday to address the critical teacher shortage and arrived at a consensus that if vacancies are not filled before the start of the new term, they would be unable to accept the usual intake for the new 2023/2024 academic year.
Present at the meeting were representatives from the Catholic, Presbyterian, Hindu (Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha), Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Muslim (Trinidad Muslim League) and Vedic schools.
Newsday spoke to representatives from the Catholic, the Maha Sabha and the Presbyterian boards who said since last October there have been no appointment of any new teachers.
Maha Sabha secretary general Vijay Maharaj told Newsday, with the crime rate soaring, it is critical that children are not denied an education.
He anticipates chaos at his schools, starting next Monday, when parents of infants seeking a place in the Maha Sabha's 43 primary schools, would be told whether their child has been accepted or not.
He said between July and December, 21 applicants were interviewed by the SDMS and referred to the ministry for interview, in alignment with the terms of the Concordat. Not one vacancy since has been filled.
[caption id="attachment_1015735" align="alignnone" width="922"] Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly. -[/caption]
“I have 11 absent teachers at present, and by September it would be 14, because three of them are resigning. I cannot take a full intake of infants by almost 200,” Maharaj said.
He is also fearful that parents, unaware of the reasons behind the denominational-run schools' inability to accept their children, could turn around and claim discrimination.
He said the Tunapuna Hindu primary school usual takes in about 100 new students annually, but because of the teacher shortage, this has been reduced to 75, and of that number, 32 from that school's pre-school must be accommodated, leaving space for only 43.
If the usual intake of 100 could have been met, the space for non-pre-school students coming in to this particular school would have been 68.
“I can only take 43 students from a three-mile radius and I already have 147 applications. This is not unique to me. It is right across the denominational education boards.
“What am I going to tell parents? They will vilify us, accuse
