Please don’t misrepresent us, Mr Garcia

THE EDITOR: I listened in consternation to Education Minister Anthony Garcia’s blunt and generalised explanation as to why the retrenchment had to continue at UTT. I speak for my own place of employment, the Centre for Education Programmes (CEP), with one of the largest student populations of the university’s departments.

The minister declared that there will be no significant impact on the university as a result of retrenchment since it is overstaffed. He spoke about classes with three students etc, omitting the fact that this is rare.

The workload at CEP in Corinth and in Valsayn is often onerous. Most of those who received letters of dismissal teach 12 courses per school year. The majority of the employees at CEP teach that many courses or more. They invariably teach at least one practicum course per term, preparing prospective teachers for actual classrooms and supervising them in schools all along the east-west corridor (Valsayn) and throughout southern Trinidad (Corinth).

Garcia argued that he does not “micromanage” the university and the board should be asked the pointed questions that he could not answer, but as the Minister of Education he should be especially concerned with the CEP since we are involved with prospective teachers who are being prepared by us to continue to build up the foundation of our education system.

Instead, in an offhanded manner he has thrown hardworking teacher educators under the bus.

MICHELENE ADAMS
, assistant professor