I am writing as at the end of the first week of school. As of today, my son who just entered Form One of a leading secondary school quite close to the Ministry of Education, is still awaiting the provision of Government text books and his laptop from the nearby ministry. This includes books for mathematics, English, science and spanish.
It is all but a maddening to hear from the officials at the school that books on the Form One list, that are supposed to be provided by the textbook rental system, are not available and they have no idea when they will be forthcoming. In fact, the school makes sure to inform the parents that in respect of such books, children did not get any for the previous year and the one before that, meaning that parents should go and buy the books and forget the Ministry.
And I do not doubt that the schools don't request them from the Ministry, its just the do-care attitude that you will get your books and computer when we say so. Now where are the computers? SEA results were announced in June and children registered in July and then parents running helter skelter only to see in papers in late August that computers were just paid for. Huh?
Have they arrived in Trinidad and Tobago? These things should be made available to students within the first week of school. The children are living on the promise. I am appealing to those at the Ministry, kindy expedite the provision of secondary school textbooks and laptops to Form One students for the 2012 academic year.
Lystra Marajh
Glencoe