Catholic board pleased with move to educate migrant children

Sharon Mangroo, CEO of the Catholic Education Board of Management is elated that the government is finally looking at including migrant children in the local primary school system.

“We have worked for four years to make this happen. So we are very happy that the government has adjusted its policy to make it possible.”

At the Humanitarian Breakfast Series hosted by the R4V platform, coordinated by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) along with the International Office of Migration (IOM) and co-chaired by US Ambassador to TT Candace Bond at the Hilton Trinidad, Port of Spain, on Thursday, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne said the Education Ministry was working with key stakeholders on this integration in the upcoming school year.

Mangroo told Newsday the school board had been preparing while it was waiting for the government to make the move.

She said not all Roman Catholic schools were fully populated, so the board contacted its principals to identify any vacancies, being careful not to deny a place to a local child. The board asked principals and teachers which of them were willing to accept migrants and many agreed, providing the board with a list of resources needed to facilitate the adjustment.

She said UNICEF and several other international agencies assisted with resources to get the necessary items, training was provided for teachers in all schools on identifying and addressing learning challenges, and UWI provided training in teaching English as a second language.

“While we have not yet been able to get migrant children in the schools, the teachers have been using that training because, for many of our children, standard English is a second language as they use creole. So that training has been very beneficial to them.”

She said the participating schools also provided orientation for parents and students so they could understand the trauma of having to leave their homes and countries under adverse circumstances.

Mangroo added that Living Water Community had been providing education to migrants outside of the school system, teaching English and the TT curriculum. The board proposed those children go into the school system first so there was minimum disruption.

“Now that Government has said, ‘Ok we are willing to change our policy and talk,’ they will now have to give us their conditions. We know, of course, one condition is that no local child must be displaced. That is a given.”

She said she was looking forward to local students learning Spanish especially as it is supposed to be TT’s second language.

“Children teach children Spanish very easily. They pick it up right away. And that opens up markets for our people in the whole of Latin and South America. So there are two-way benefits.”