Government of the Republic of Trinidad and TobagoMINISTRY OF EDUCATION

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION18 Alexandra Street, St. Clair, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Phone: 1-868-628-1581/622-1088 Fax: 1-868-628-2088 www.moe.gov.tt

NEWS RELEASE                                                                                5h January, 2016

Education Ministers meet with team from the THA The Honourable Anthony Garcia, Minister of Education and Dr. the Honourable Lovell Francis,

Minister in the Ministry of Education and their technical team met with a team from the Division of

Education, Youth Affairs and Sport of the Tobago House of Assembly on Tuesday January 5 th, 2016

at the Ministry’s Head Office, Haynes and Alexandra Streets, St. Clair. The major objective was to

cement ties between the Ministry of Education and the Tobago House of Assembly. Among the

topics discussed were the finalization of an MOU at the ECCE level, payment of ECCE teachers’

salaries in Tobago, the Textbook Loan Programme, and the provision of laptops.

Speaking during the meeting, Minister Garcia said he was pleased to be meeting with the Division

and told Assemblyman Huey Cadette, Secretary of Education, Youth Affairs and Sport that he was

aware of the fact that many teachers at the ECCE level in Tobago did not have salaries that were on

par with their counterparts in Trinidad and he would like to ensure that there is equity across the

board. He also advised that the issue of including the ECCE in the Education Act will be discussed at

length during the National Consultation on Education.

Minister Garcia also assured Assemblyman Cadette that students will benefit from the Textbook

Loan Programme in Tobago as it is treated as an Educational District. He emphasized he would

welcome representation from Tobago on the Textbook Evaluation Committee, as government is

changing its approach to the procurement of textbooks for the 2016 fiscal period. On the issue of the

provision of laptops, Minister Garcia said a decision will be made in the coming weeks as the

original objectives of this initiative were not being met.

He stressed that all of these issues will be discussed at the National Consultation on Education in

February. Assemblyman Cadette indicated that he welcomed the move to devote an entire day to the

session in Tobago and would be working with the Ministry to assist with the planning and hosting of

the Consultation.

For further information please contact the Corporate Communications Division, Ministry of Education: ph:628-1581 / fx:628-2088