Kamla condemns murder, school violence

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar condemned the murder of Nicole Moses in Westmoorings on Thursday.

She also slammed reports of student violence at the Siparia West Secondary School earlier in the week.

This was evidence that education, national security and other aspects of national life in Trinidad and Tobago are in shambles, she said.

Persad-Bissessar, former prime minister and education minister, made these comments in debate on a private motion in the House of Representatives on Friday.

The motion, filed by Tabaquite MP Anita Haynes, dealt with what Haynes described as "increasing and unacceptable levels of disparity in inequitable access to education."

Endorsing the motion, Persad-Bissessar said, "I think all of us this week have been horrified when crime is totally out of control."

She added," I share my condolences with all the bereaved families, including the Moses family, for the horrendous murder that took place this week."

Moses, a businesswoman, was shot when three bandits invaded her Westmoorings North home on Thursday morning.

On violence in schools, Persad-Bissessar said this was examined last year by a joint select committee (JSC) which submitted a report which identified crime and violence in communities, teacher longevity and funding as some factors which contribute to violence in schools.

After saying this was one of two JSCs which examined issues in the education sector and both submitted reports to Parliament, Persad-Bissessar asked Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly whether Government has acted on any of the recommendations they made.

While she acknowledged that Gadsby-Dolly spoke about some pertinent issues in education, Persad-Bissessar was not satisfied with the state of the sector.

"After seven years (in government), it is a work in progress."

She claimed this was further evidence that education, along with all other aspects of national life, was in chaos. Opposition MPs thumped their desks as Persad-Bissessar declared, "Everything is in shambles."

She was concerned that if Government did not act swiftly to address deficiencies in education, Treinidad and Tobago would lose a generation of its children. Persad-Bissessar rejected the notion that the covid19 pandemic was mainly responsible for problems in education today.

"That sector was destroyed long before the covid came."

She claimed that under the PNM, some 38,000 children can no longer access the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses Programme (GATE). Persad-Bissessar said funding for GATE had been slashed from $650 million under the UNC-led People's Partnership (PP) coalition government to approximately $400,000 now.

She challenged Government to say whether any new secondary or primary schools had been built since it took office in September 2015. Information available to the Opposition, Persad-Bissessar continued, was that many schools left unfinished since the PP's tenure have become overrun by vines and are residences for vermin.

Persad-Bissessar also said another JSC report said children had challenges with online learning during the pandemic. Those challenges included issues like no access to devices or poor internet capabilities when the devices were available.

Referring to Gadsby-Dolly's earlier contribution to the debate, Persad-Bissessar said, "This is not the truth. This is not the reality."

She found it unacceptable that any cabinet or government could not make TT's children its top priority and find ways to ensure they received a proper education.

Persad-Bissessar said it was not just a case of providing for the less fortunate children but providing for the brightest children as well. She added the Opposition could not trust the information Government was using to justify its performance in education, and asked, "What is the minister going to do? What is the Government going to do?"