THE EDITOR: Who is to be blamed when TT children cannot read, write and spell their own names by the age of nine? Surely it must be the teachers. Were these children not attending school since age five? Four full years of education and hundreds of students are living with unmonitored literacy problems?

Surely all teachers, in every single school in TT, year upon year, will be aware of which students have recurring problems.

Forget about the parents for now. Forget about who is the Minister of Education and if you even support the government in power. This letter is about teaching ability. And, importantly, are all teachers in possession of a clear conscience?

Did they go into teaching just for the salary and the long vacations? Is teaching a calling or for personal convenience?

Let us examine the role and function of TTUTA. Is it just collecting monthly deposits from its membership without being aware which teachers are just coasting along?

Some children may need eye glasses. Some children may have level-of-intelligence problems and live in distressing home conditions, but surely all children should be able to read, write and spell their own names by the age of nine and in time for sitting their SEA by age 11.

Every single child will not be able to be in the first 200 places in the SEA exams, but come on TTUTA, each teacher being paid by taxpayers can ensure that at the very least all pupils can at least read, write and spell.

Not every child is Einstein, but at the very least teach them to read.

If you can read, the very sky is the limit.

LYNETTE JOSEPH

Diego Martin

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