Education system is truly useless

THE EDITOR: Now that school has reopened it’s time to evaluate whether the education system is serving TT’s best interests. Despite claims of unemployment, pretty much every business can’t find people to hire.

Anyone who is currently jobless most likely has an issue with lack of skills or wrong work ethic. This raises the issue of whether secondary and tertiary education actually prepares people for the real world, specifically getting and keeping a job.

What is the cost of educating a person from primary to tertiary education? And does the current result of “education” deliver on its promises? If not, then the education system is unfit for modern times and should be restructured.

We are only too happy to keep obsolete systems rather than revise what and how the young are taught. Most of the topics in secondary school have little value afterwards and are taught in a manner to make lessons uninteresting (there are very few world-class teachers in TT).

It’s obvious that much schooling is intended as “babysitting” so parents can work. Remember when schools were closed due to covid19?

As a result, many graduates with “papers” are simply unfit, be they secondary students who can’t spell or post-university hires that are unable to think critically. It’s fair to say that better education would significantly improve our people and by extension governance.

Instead of teaching only academic subjects, where are the truly useful classes on dealing with conflict, basic financial literacy, how to accept valid criticism and self-improvement, etc. Where are the civics and morality classes to educate what’s good for society vs the individual?

The other thing is many people want to work weekdays in an office. But there are many jobs outside this range and if you have ever tried to find a plumber or electrician you know demand outstrips supply. The emphasis on degrees ignores a whole class of skilled workers.

It’s unfortunate that business groups and the various chambers of commerce haven’t been more vocal on the general failure of the education system and the worsening state of the labour pool. Perhaps they are too busy trying to find workers.

It’s very disappointing that the trade unions haven’t raised this either. All of this is made even more serious by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, which although still in its infancy poses a real threat to many types of jobs. Ironically, we are failing the next generation and this should be a high priority concern for the Government.

R SAMAROO

via e-mail