Pope Francis sees education as “an act of hope” and believes that “faith and the Christian vision of humanity fuel that hope” (Catholic Relief Service). Sadly, structural injustice in T&T may dash this hope for some of our students.
I share with you hereunder a letter that I hand-delivered to the Minister of Education’s office on July 1, on a CCSJ letterhead, about an issue that was first raised with me by a member of staff at Corpus Christi school. It is self-explanatory:
“Hon. Minister Gopeesingh,
Re: MOE arrangements to place students in Private Schools
I wish to raise with you an issue that continues to be of concern to many privately run schools. For many years now, this has been a contentious issue. It relates to a contractual arrangement between private schools and the Ministry of Education (MOE).
I have been asked by the Corpus Christi Carmelite Board to make a special plea to you to address what may be inequity in the education system. Since the information hereunder is based on my discussions with a number of individuals in some of these schools, I stand corrected if the information I share is not totally accurate.
I understand that, at the time of ‘de-shifting’, many private secondary schools were approached to take students, particularly in areas where there was a shortage of school places. Most of these schools thought that the guaranteed Government fees per student would be a ‘positive’. However, at $1,200 per student per term many are now in an untenable position, particularly where Government-placed students can take up as much as 80% of spaces. In some cases the minority private students pay $3,000 or more per term.
I note that the fees are paid for the students placed, not the teachers. I am told that the fees being paid by the government at present for each student placed in a private school are well below the cost of educating that student in the school. Out of the fees collected the schools must then pay their costs which include teaching staff as well as curriculum materials, equipment and facilities, as well as maintenance and repairs.
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I am aware that many of the private secondary schools depend on the Government- allotted students for their existence, since the number of private fee-paying students is small by comparison. While there is some mutual dependence between the State and the private schools, is the State obtaining services at an unfair rate?
Universal free secondary education should not be a lottery. The Government’s 7 interconnected pillars for sustainable development is laudable as this national policy is built on the premise of Prosperity for All. Where is the equity, though, for those students who are placed by the Government in private schools that are ‘strapped’ for cash and cannot provide equipment, etc. that State schools do?
How can we tackle the issue of providing a better educational standard for all? How can we level the playing field for all? Perhaps it is time for us to reflect on whether or not the State is contributing to an inequitable distribution in the quality of education and terms and conditions of service of the Private school educators who support them. Proper quality assurance systems would certainly highlight the deficiencies of our system.
While access to adequate resources is only one variable in promoting quality education, resources are important if we are to create conditions that will allow our children to achieve their potential. I urge you to consider my plea to you to address inequities in our education system.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Leela Ramdeen, Chair, The Catholic Commission for Social Justice, Attorney-at-Law & Education Consultant
Let us pray that we will do the right thing and create conditions that will allow all our students to realise their potential.
