MINISTER of Education Anthony Garcia is calling on Opposition MPs not to criticise the Government but to work together help in the fight against the Covid-19.
In a release on Saturday, Garcia said, “If there is one student that does not have access at this time, it is one too many that is being deprived of their right to education.
“During a time like this what I would wish to see is my fellow elected Members of Parliament step up not to condemn and critique the government, but to see how we can all work together to aid the persons we represent.
“We will have our time for bicker and banter, right now I ask for us to focus our energies on solutions to helping the persons we are charged with the responsibility of representing.”
The Education Ministry also stated in the same release that while the distribution of laptops to all students would have made the pandemic easier to manage, “giving someone a tool that they are unable to use is helpful to no one.”
The release added, “The Ministry has engaged stakeholders and has been creating avenues for those who do not have devices or access at this time to gain assistance.
“Internationally, as many countries have moved to a system of Home Based Learning (HBL) the platforms that the Ministry has created such as the School Learning Management System (SLMS) and the Education Management Information System (EMIS) have become the most relevant and necessary tools as it provides students, parents and teachers with teaching and learning resources, available on all types of devices.”
It stated that the ministry stated that there was a concern that there were a number of students were without access to devices or connectivity.
The release added, “The Ministry of Education along with the Education Committee formulated by Cabinet to address matters of education during this pandemic, continues to create, evaluate and implement measures that will be to the benefit of all people of Trinidad and Tobago.
“Schools have been assessing the ICT resources available to them and the possibility of teachers having access to these devices is being reviewed and a policy formulated.
“The Ministry will continue to update the population as more avenues and resources become available.”
Under the previous UNC regime form one students were given laptops. This programme was scrapped by the current PNM government.
