Ministry must intervene in football mess

THE EDITOR: The issues highlighted within the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) are nothing new but are big news today as big money is now involved. But the Ministry of Education must immediately intervene.

St Benedict’s College of the 60s is well known.

A current national footballer played with at least four teams as a Form 5 student, including a school in Tobago.

Another student repeated Form 5 in the same school three times and in four tries got one subject — English language.

A national footballer did not know the difference between the junior secondary and senior secondary, the schools adjacent to each other.

How is it possible for a student with one subject to be registered for Form 6, where the requirements are five subjects with grade B in the CAPE subjects?

How is it possible for a student to drop out from school, play in the Professional League and re-register for Form Five?

How is it possible for a student over the age of 19 years to be registered?

Why are repeating students allowed to play for their school?

The ministry must immediately intervene and put a stop to these issues and not bury its head in the sand. This is not a sporting issue.

Schools where students who do not complete their years of study with CSEC or CAPE should be banned for one year from playing in the respective sport. This should address the issue of students turning up for football duties only, then disappearing in January.

And students who repeat any year of study, whether in the same school or a different school, should not be allowed to take part in any sport.

But the Ministry of Education must immediately intervene.

PHILIP AYOUNG-CHEE via e-mail