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