Haynes chides PM for remarks on 'criminal' pupils

TABAQUITE MP Anita Haynes in a statement on Thursday took issue with several remarks made the Prime Minister at a breakfast meeting at the Hilton Trinidad, St Ann's, on Thursday, where he linked criminality to a lack of educational attainment.

Dr Rowley said, at present, many youngsters especially young males, leave the education system totally unprepared for life in the national community but largely end up in the hands of the drug dealers and gang leaders. He said those earning scholarships in the colonial days all became contributing citizens, in contrast to nowadays.

"Today when everybody is going into the system, the system is not ready for everybody, therefore there is a significant amount of waste, with people passing through the system, and they in that system also frustrate the teachers.

"Some of the teachers do less than teaching, because the process overwhelms them, and of course we have a large proportion of parents who are not doing their parenting."

Haynes hit, “It is truly a frightening situation to have the Prime Minister, the leader of government policy, declare without any nuanced scrutiny and self-examination that the school system is churning out uneducated criminals."

She chided that rather than discussing how education can help to fight crime, Rowley had chosen to reminisce on the days when access to education was limited to the social elite.

"What does it say for our country that the Prime Minister found a way to vilify equitable access to education?”

Haynes alleged the Government had dismantled the education sector with regressive and detrimental policies.

"This PNM Government scrapped the Laptop Programme; increased financial barriers to tertiary education by decreasing GATE access, university subventions and scholarships; and even reduced the provision of technical and vocational training.

"Undoubtedly, this PNM administration created cracks in our school system and many of our vulnerable young people fell through them. The resulting social issues that we are now facing are, in fact, consequences of their poor governance.”

She mulled Rowley's questions on whether pupils promoted to secondary school – despite still struggling with primary level studies – would follow a primary or secondary level curriculum.

Haynes said, "Ensuring access to education is not the problem. Rather, more focus needs to be placed on inclusivity and education delivery.

"Students should be provided with education paths that are varied, not solely focused on academics but also on skills training and key sectors such as agriculture and technology." Student learning styles must be considered when developing delivery systems, Haynes said.

"We need to reach students where they are and give them the resources they require to succeed.”

She said data clearly showed record low performances and record high numbers of drop-outs under this Government, compared to unparalleled achievements of pupils under People Partnership policies.

“What the Prime Minister admitted, albeit unintentionally, is that his Government has failed the children of TT. They have taken away much-needed opportunities while also neglecting to implement policies targeted at incorporating vulnerable groups into national development plans.

"I challenge Dr Rowley and his administration to not only criticise the people of TT but to implement the solutions they claimed to have when seeking office.”