00:00University graduates being unable to find jobs in their fields of study. It's
00:05been a topic of a discussion in some quarters. Well, it comes up again as
00:10opposition leader Kamala Prasad Bissessa refers to the UNC's education manifesto.
00:15We know there are about 500 doctors who have been trained and cannot get a job.
00:21I have a proposal that we replace a doctor either in a cluster of schools or
00:26in the largest schools there'll be a doctor and a nurse in every one of the
00:30largest schools. In this way we can pick up early signs of physical disability,
00:39mental disabilities, but we can also pick up issues of abuse, physical abuse,
00:46bullying, sexual abuse. On another note the UNC panelists believe that the
00:51school curriculum is lacking and should be tailored to address areas like the
00:55food import bill, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy in catering for
01:00today's work environment. According to education consultant and former
01:05principal of Naparima Boys College, Dr. Michael Dowlath, enough is not being done
01:11to ensure that students meet what he calls the minimum standards. He cites
01:16examinations as a gauge. In 2024, at the secondary school level, 45.55% of the
01:25students who sat the exams received a full certificate. That is 6,393. But in
01:352019, you started off with 18,844 students who passed the SEA exam. What
01:44happened to that 13,451? So when you look at it, one in three students actually
01:51achieved the minimum success. As the panelists know that infrastructural
01:56problems at schools can impact the delivering of the curriculum by classes
02:00sometimes being rotated or canceled, Dr. Dowlath says online learning can be used
02:06in the interim. I am a student of Prisail Secondary School, a Form 2 student. I have
02:12not been able to go to school for the last six weeks because of a rat
02:16infestation in the school. I have been disadvantaged because when it's time
02:21for exam, nobody wants to know that I was not able to go to school and I now have
02:28to put a burden on my parents to send me to private lessons. And who is the MP for
02:32Prisail, please? Have you done anything about it? Okay, send a release. You may have to do
02:38more than a release. You may have to gather the parents to file a motion in the
02:43Parliament. You need to get proactive. This is really so intolerable.
02:49Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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