SEA failure not the end

THE EDITOR: I totally disagree with the views expressed in a commentary entitled "Devil take the hindmost" published in one of the newspapers where the writer said only the top 100 or 200 SEA students were celebrated while the thousands who fail were ignored and condemned for life and were left to be taken by the devil. I find the views of the writer to be very uninformed, misleading and unfair.

I am involved with education at the secondary level and I am aware the Ministry of Education has implemented several initiatives to help the 2,000 plus students who scored below 30 per cent at the SEA in 2018. One significant curriculum initiative is the Form One (1) project where the curriculum was adjusted specifically to suit the needs of students who were deliberately placed in SERVOL Centres.

I also know of many teachers who give up their vacation to give free classes to prepare students for their first year in the secondary school. Other initiatives such as Clinical Supervision, Teacher Training, the Laventille / Morvant Project and Penmanship –Writing with a Purpose are only some of the many initiatives to address issues such as literacy and numeracy among students at the primary school level.

The writer expressed the view that only scholarship winners matter. It is public knowledge in the Tertiary Education Sector, thousands of students leaving secondary schools and non scholarship winners benefit from opportunities provided by the Education Sector. Students have access to GATE funding to pursue their academic dreams at many tertiary institutions such as UWI, COSTATT, ROYTEC, UTT, Sital College, SBCS, University of Southern Caribbean and many other such institutions. These students contribute to the work force and national development in many various ways.

The commentary is also critical of absentee teachers and a curriculum that does not cater adequately for students who are creative and are interested in areas such as music, dance, drama, sport or applied science and technology. This is totally untrue because the CSEC & CAPE 2018 results will show that students from TT performed excellent in these areas and actually more students are writing these subjects. The education system may not be the best, but the efforts of the ministry and all stakeholders including parents and teachers to improve education deserve acknowledgement.

Davanand Mahabir, Port of Spain