‘Free’ education behind many of Trinidad and Tobago’s problems

THE EDITOR: Should the children of Venezuelan refugees have access to public schools in TT? The short answer is no.

My view is based on the premise (fact) of government inefficiency, in the technical economic sense: benefits are less than costs.

In the bad old colonial days, parents had to pay fees to send their children to school. Even poor families were able to do this by sacrificing, once their child/children displayed academic ability.

Money was not wasted on children who would fail their exams (which is the case now that we have “free” schools, ie, paid for by national revenues). Often, bright children would get help from businessmen or the church.

Thus, Venezuelan families who place high value on education and have bright children are already sending them to private kindergartens and to "lessons" classes.

They can do this because they are employed and they can find employment because employers don’t have to pay them the minimum wage or worry about labour regulations. This is also an area where government regulations create inefficiency by interfering in the free market for labour.

“Free” education is thus part of the explanation for many socioeconomic problems, ranging from school violence to a shortage of skilled labour, to government corruption.

ELTON SINGH

Couva