Better access to quality education for Trinidad and Tobago's children and youth

CAF –development bank of Latin America- and the Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago, signed two agreements that will contribute, on the one hand,  to expanding equitable access to quality virtual education for primary and secondary students from public schools in the country; and on the other, the development of technical bases to facilitate the teaching of Spanish as the first foreign language in the country. These agreements are financed with CAF non-reimbursable resources allocated in coordination with the Ministry of Finance.

In acknowledging the significance of this agreement, the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, Minister of Education, stressed the importance holistic education and preparing students for this new global village. “We live in a world where one geographic location no longer restricts business or educational advancement. As such, our students have limitless opportunities to expand their horizons and be global citizens, communicating effortlessly across physical and language borders”. The Education Minister applauded the CAF -development bank of America- for their investment and support of the educational advancement of Trinidad and Tobago’s children.

The first agreement will be executed with the support of UNICEF and facilitate vulnerable primary and secondary students’ access to quality online education, at all times, but especially during periods in which school closures are mandated, such as what is occurring currently due to COVID-19. It is estimated that the prolonged interruption of in-school education has affected about 136,530 primary and 86,983 secondary students, with consequences on future academic performance and dropout rates, even as schools reopening is being planned for.

In parallel, the shift to online education poses some significant challenges, such as the acquisition of additional pedagogical skills by teachers; and the existing inequalities in relation to access and use of information and communication technologies. The Ministry estimates that 27,563 primary and 9,350 secondary students cannot afford personal devices to access virtual teaching platforms, and require Government intervention to allow equitable access to educational opportunity.

To counter this situation, the agreement contemplates the following actions:

• The development of five digital textbooks for Mathematics and English, for the primary and secondary level, and in Spanish for the secondary level, with sections dedicated to each of the seven grades of primary education and each of the five grades of secondary education.
• The implementation of tools for the self-training for educators in information and communication technologies (ICT) relevant to the use of the Learning Management System (LMS), an online teaching platform, which the government has put in place to mitigate the impact of school closings.
• The training of one hundred primary and secondary education officials to provide relevant training for the use of LMS and transformation of pedagogical practices through the use of ICT.
• The delivery of one thousand devices to the most vulnerable households without access to online teaching and educational materials.

The second agreement will enable the development of studies and technical proposals to promote the teaching of Spanish as a first foreign language in Trinidad and Tobago, taking into account the importance of mastering this language to take advantage of the economic, social and cultural opportunities offered by the new dynamics of the labor market, the increase in trade between Trinidad and Tobago and Latin America, and the potential increase in cultural exchange with Spanish-speaking countries.

In this context, the agreement will facilitate a diagnosis of the current situation of the Spanish teaching policy at the national level, as well as the analysis of the primary and secondary Spanish curricula, the processes of teacher professional development, the training programs offered for teachers at university level, the educational materials, as well as quality educational follow up and monitoring systems that guarantee the success of the Spanish learning objectives that the country sets for the coming years.

It is expected that the Program to be formulated will lay the foundation for the establishment of a national policy that promotes the learning of Spanish by youths and workers, and the improvement of the capacities of teachers and educational institutions for its teaching and promotion.