Former Education Minister Priya Manickchand decried the collation Government for returning some $2B to the national treasury which she said could have been used to pay $ 15,000 in subsidies to students, referencing the $10,000 grant that was removed by Government.
She added, too that the money could have even been used to pay the teachers increase who she said had to beg Government for their benefits. She added that Government is not willing to work with the Opposition, a move she blamed on petty leadership.
“You know Mr Speaker if you are ashamed of what you did then that speaks to the level of mismanagement, you can’t be ashamed of it, I am very proud of our stewardship and we would be happy if you brought it up every time you got up to speak. So Mr Speaker to say that we did nothing, well you face the nation and say that” Manickchand encouraged amidst loud heckling.
However, Education Minister Nicolette Henry responded saying there were improvements in bringing trained teachers in the public education system and curriculum reform. She noted that physical education and music will be strengthened in the coming year.
“23% of our students are passing English, 25% Mathematics, 37% social studies and 23% science. In three short years, we have seen improvements and this year we were able to record 60% pass rate in English and similar improvements were recorded in other subject areas” Henry stated.
Manickchand however decried that Government must present the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) report on Education in the National Assembly and the revise the Education Act which is over 100 years old and thus cannot serve the nation’s children.
