In Trinidad. The Ministry of Education has the policy of free instruction for all. They preach that this ‘free’ instruction is non based on category. wealth. race. gender or ethnicity but instead is a manner to guarantee that the full state is educated. Though these are the promises on Trinidad’s and Tobago’s Education Policy Paper. how is it that merely nine of every one 1000 people continue onto college. university or any higher instruction after secondary school? Twenty-one per centum of Trinidadians live in poorness. which means that 21 per centum of citizens do non hold entree to running H2O or proper wellness attention.
Because of this. many kids in these hapless households instantly enter the universe of work or go ‘beggars’ to assist feed their household. This shows the importance of societal category on the initial determination of whether a kid will be educated or non. This is non common as merely two per centum of Trinidad’s population is illiterate. I would categorise myself in the center to high position category in my state and this has. in many ways affected my educational chances.
I lived in a town known as Diego Martin and though my vicinity largely consisted of people within my same societal category. the town itself has many vicinities dwelling of people populating in poorness. Pre-school instruction is non considered by authorities policies and hence. there are no public pre-schools and if a household wants to inscribe their kid in preschool they would hold to make so in private and with their ain money. This goes to demo that the first degree of instruction in Trinidad is in fact non free.
Because of this. my parents enrolled me in a private pre-school. which would so hold to be paid for with their ain money. This shows the immediate impact that category has on one’s instruction from merely the first stairss. Pre-school in Trinidad normally takes about two old ages and here is where a kid learns his Numberss and letters and hence these kids populating under the poorness line are slightly ‘robbed’ of these indispensable acquisition old ages. After this. a kid must so be signed up for primary school where he or she will pass the undermentioned seven old ages.
There are two hundred and 16 primary schools in the state. one hundred and sixty-three of which are funded by assorted spiritual establishments. thirty-two of which are funded by the authorities and hence are wholly free of charge. and 21 of which are in private run. I attended a in private run school as these had higher success rates in the SEA or Secondary Entrance Assessment scrutiny that all primary school pupils are prepared for in order to derive arrangement in the school of one’s pick.
Once once more. though there is an handiness of free primary degree instruction. the members of the center and higher societal category send their kids to in private run schools in order to guarantee that instructors are invariably present and non on work stoppage due to low authorities rewards. and that their kids receive a more all-around instruction as there are financess now for athleticss and other recreational activities.
Personally. go toing a private school made me non merely experience safe. as there were non normally guards present in authorities funded establishments due to high cost. but to besides gave me the chances to fall in different featuring squads and travel on school ‘outings’ to assorted national attractive forces and the necessary readying to derive a arrangement in the secondary school of my choice- the figure one miss secondary school in Trinidad.
The entryway scrutiny is one facet that I can truly state that had perfectly nil to make with category. race or ethnicity as each pupil was given an designation figure and arrangement into pick schools was done based on consequences. These secondary schools were once more a seven-year class. Therefore. in entire one should pass 16 old ages at school in order to finish what is considered a general instruction but the mean figure of old ages spent at school in Trinidad is eleven.
This means that the mean pupil ‘drops out’ of secondary school after two old ages. As a female in the top all girls’ establishment. I became really gender prejudice as my school continuously obtained the most authorities scholarships twelvemonth after twelvemonth. Not merely that. but nationally adult females received a important figure of scholarships more than the work forces did. This may hold wrongly shaped my thought that adult females are in fact smarter than work forces based on what I experienced at place.
Third instruction for many Trinidadians is highly category prejudice. There is one university known as the University of the West Indies and though it is highly renowned in technology and mathematical surveies it can merely ease a really little per centum of alumnuss every twelvemonth. Therefore. if one wishes to analyze. he or she may hold to look at schools abroad which is a immense disbursal for any household.
Analyzing in the United States has been a great privilege for me that would ne’er hold been possible if I belonged to a lower societal category. Overall. my societal position granted me opportunities impossible for many occupants in my state. Despite authorities attempts to break the instruction degrees of the state there is still a batch to be done in order to run into the end that category does non find one’s degree or instruction.
