Education Minister: Migrant children will be given books, lunches

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly has said more Venezuelan migrant children who qualify to attend school in TT will be able to transition into schools in the course of the school year.

She also said migrant students will be able to access school lunch and food programmes.

The minister made the comments in response to questions from Newsday on Tuesday, the day after the announcement that 23 of 111 children who qualified to enter TT schools would do so in September.

Asked whether the 23 migrant children will have access to programmes such as box lunches, books and transport, Gadsby-Dolly said “Yes.”

Asked, “If more children become eligible during the school year, will they be able to enter at that time or will they have to wait until next year?” she said, “They will transition during the school year.”

In a release on Tuesday, the Education Ministry said discussions are ongoing on the provision of books, uniforms and transport.

“Local and international bodies such as the Education Working Group, Living Water Community and UNHCR have pledged their support in procuring such items for these students. In alignment with services currently offered, the provision of transportation will be based on the availability of services and routes provided by PTSC and meals will be provided based on a needs assessment.”

The ministry will being ask the International Visitor Leadership Program Fulbright Specialist Program for a US-based expert to come to TT to train senior teachers and heads of departments on strategies to be used with non-English speaking students. It said it has engaged with the IDB to prepare and hold language proficiency assessments to determine the appropriate instructional placement of migrant students.

However, activists and politicians have expressed concern about the large number of children who are not able to enter the local school system.

National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said about 2,000 Venezuelan minors were now in TT, including those not registered as migrants.

Human rights advocate and former Caribbean Centre for Human Rights executive director Denise Pitcher said the TT government should be commended for the steps it has taken to allow refugee and migrant children into schools.

“However, given that there are over 2,000 migrant and refugee children in TT, there is a sense of urgency with which the government should act to ensure no child is left behind. Education is a fundamental human right and no child should be denied access to education.”

She said more must be done to ensure all children have access to education, for example, by removing the bureaucratic hurdles caused by lack of documents.

“When persons flee their homelands in search of protection, often for various reasons, they leave without proper documentation.”

She said access to education is critical for integration and socio-economic mobility.

“Other pressing development and security concerns arise as a consequence of children not being in school, in terms of their ability to become self-reliant, productive members of society.

“It should also be noted we have over 40 other nationalities that seek asylum in TT, and they have not been included in this initiative.”

UNC shadow education minister Anita Haynes-Alleyne said she has been bringing the issue of Venezuelan migrant children and school accommodation to the government’s attention since the initial registration exercise in 2019.

“By and large, the ministry was saying there is no real barrier once you have your documents. But if you understood how the Venezuelans were coming into TT, the vast majority of them were not coming in with proper documents. To ask them to present their passport and high school, primary school or whatever certification, to then apply for a student permit – that in and of itself was a barrier, because they did not come in here with proper documents.”

Haynes-Alleyne said the government’s attitude toward Venezuelan children since 2019 meant many would be left behind.

“We could start the counter, generously, from 2019, but the reality is Venezuelans have been coming to TT for years before that at an increased number. We have children, let’s say they came in at three or four in 2019, five years ago: so now they are eight or nine. Some came in a little bit older, some younger.

“They would have missed the bulk of a primary-school education and are almost at a point to transition to a secondary-school education. How are we expecting them to catch up?

“Education and childhood education are a time-sensitive matter, and if you drag your feet on it, you will run out of time because those children will become adults while you are tinkering and they will be unemployable.”

She said these adults will become a part of TT society that are being left out of things that will be able to make them productive or more productive in the future.

“That means this government, by their inaction and their inability to manage a plan from start to finish in a sensible and deliberate manner, would have kicked a problem down the road for the future generations of TT to deal with, and they seem not to understand the magnitude of the disservice they are doing to the next generation of TT.”

The National Security Minister, UNHCR and the Living Water Community could not be reached for comment by phone or WhatsApp up to publication time.

Special measures for migrant students

The ministry said several measures are planned for implementation once the migrant students are enrolled in September. These include:

• Preparing and doing language-proficiency assessments to determine appropriate instructional placement for migrant children

• Student orientation Language support by pairing new students with “language buddies” to support basic communication and provision of translators

• Cultural celebrations of both Spanish and local cultures parent communication through translated newsletters

• Parent-teacher conferences with online interpreters and online translation tools

• Social-emotional support to help students adjust to a new environment and navigate potential cultural differences

• Community partnerships Technology integration through translation apps, online learning platforms with Spanish-language support materials and educational games.