23 migrant children to join public school system from September

Senior Reporter

dareece.polo@guardian.co.tt

Trinidad and Tobago nationals aren’t the only ones preparing for school next month, as the children of some registered Venezuelan migrants are joining the public school system.

This as 23 migrant children, or 35 per cent of those who registered with the Ministry of National Security, received student assignment letters at the Ministry of Education in Port-of-Spain yesterday.

Although there was one child with teary eyes, the 22 others who received their letters were all smiles.

The children are being placed across four government schools and 18 denominational schools.

According to ministry officials, 187 parents applied but only 111 were successful.

“There were a few challenges that we did encounter. For instance, missing documents, expired permits, low levels of literacy among parents, resulting in extended periods of times for interviews,” Chief Education Officer Dr Peter Smith revealed.

Smith said in some instances, there were also difficulties in organising translators at the district level where registration took place.

This initiative is only available to Venezuelan migrants under the age of 18, whose parents registered with the National Security Ministry in 2019 and continue to do so annually.

National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds spoke following the ceremony and disclosed that some 2,000 migrant children are registered. He said those who are unregistered will not be considered at this time.

“All that a government could do is to act sensibly and reasonably. And we did that by making the opportunity available. As I said a moment ago, not only for Venezuelans, but every single citizen of the world who was at that time in Trinidad and Tobago, be they from Africa, be they from Asia, or the sub-continent, wherever, we made it available. We have done what we ought to have done as a civilised, stable democracy.”

More students will join the school system as the term progresses, once they have all the requisite documents in order.

As for Spanish being taught to locals at the level of primary school, Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said they’ve been in talks with the Latin American Development Bank to initiate a programme. She said until they receive funding, it cannot be facilitated.

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