PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The United States has welcomed the decision by the Trinidad and Tobago government that it is working toward a phased approach to integrate refugee and migrant children into the public school system.
Photo courtesy of UNICEF/UN0433685/Moreno GonzalezForeign and CARICOM Affairs, Dr Amery Browne, in making the disclosure said that education without borders for migrant children could soon be a reality.
“That trajectory and opportunities I had as a child I would want for every single child in Trinidad and Tobago. I’m saying this not just in theory but to herald the government’s advances in policy which have brought us to a point where we can look forward to in the very near future …
“Efforts are taking place for this to occur in the coming school year, for at the primary level we can facilitate integration and access to public education by children of migrants,” he added.
Browne said that efforts were needed to bridge the gaps that pose a challenge to the enrolment of migrant children.
“The Ministry of Education is onboard, the Prime Minister and Office of the Prime Minister have been a big part of this impetus, this shift, this progression. It is going to take some considerable work between now and then, so we can acknowledge language barriers and several other challenges but these are not beyond our capacity to solve,” he said.
In a statement, US Ambassador, Candace Bond, and the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V) said they welcomed the statement by Browne.
She noted that the United States stands ready to work with the government here and that the approach outlined by the Foreign Minister will benefit children here as well.
“Many of the benefits derived from the phased approach we are discussing will result in a more inclusive and cohesive education system for the many Trinbagonian children who dropped out of school during the pandemic and never returned,” Ambassador Bond said.
An estimated 5,000 children registered with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) require access to national education in Trinidad and Tobago. The majority of these children are from Venezuela, but some of them are from other countries including Cuba, Jamaica, and Guyana, among others, the US Embassy here noted.
In 2019, 16,523 Venezuelan migrants were allowed to legally work in T&T and since then they have been given extensions to legally work and live here.
Meanwhile, the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA), Martin Lum Kin, said while the organization has not been part of any policy discussion on the matter, it understands the humanitarian issue.
“We recognize there are a number of schools that are at capacity in terms of the student population and including additional students who are not citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. We have to be aware that they do not displace citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.
“The sizes of the classes may have to expand and TTUTA has an agreement with the Ministry of Education in terms of class sizes. We are also concerned about resources at the schools to facilitate these additional students. TTUTA is hopeful there will be consideration of these issues when the Government and the ministry plan to address this issue,” he told the Trinidad Guardian newspaper.
