President of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers' Association (TTUTA), Martin Lum Kin, has sounded the alarm over the state of schools nationwide, many of which remain decanted, while others are plagued by serious infrastructural decay and infestations.
Despite repeated appeals, he says the previous Ministry of Education continued to offer the same evasive response, leaving critical concerns unaddressed.
He is hopeful that will change under this new administration.
00:00Tutor President Martin Lumpkin says that ongoing safety concerns within schools were repeatedly brought to the attention of the Permanent Secretary during multiple meetings.
00:12However, he notes that the association was consistently met with responses indicating either a lack of available funding or vague assurances that the matter was under review.
00:24Today, he expresses hope that the newly appointed Minister of Education will prioritise and address these long-standing issues with the urgency they deserve.
00:36Even though the Honourable Minister and the Ministry is looking at the unfinished projects, as you would have said, there are a number of schools that are continuing on a very thin line as it relates to infrastructure, health and safety.
00:54And so we're hoping that those schools will also be addressed.
00:59Lumpkin tells the Morning Edition oftentimes teachers come under attack when it is believed they are underperforming.
01:07However, he says if staff is forced to take care of daily expenses themselves, work will be affected.
01:14Our school supervisors, our curriculum officers, our district officers as well too, they are languishing in terms of the funds that they have to carry out their duties.
01:27So funding throughout the education system.
01:30But our educators in the past and present and in the future cannot sit by and allow their students to not have the resources.
01:40And I think over the years, our administration from the top within the Ministry of Education, governments as well too, no matter the political party, have in our estimation taken advantage of our educators.
01:57Lumpkin further disclosed that the issues surrounding teachers' insurance claims remains unresolved and a tutor may soon be forced to pursue legal action.
02:08Earlier this year, he highlighted that educators have not been receiving reimbursements from the insurance provider, despite monthly deductions being taken directly from their salaries.
02:20He emphasized that this ongoing failure to honor claims is both unacceptable and deeply unjust to the nation's teachers.
02:29We are making representation to see what this new administration will do.
02:33We have to give them the opportunity to address it.
02:37Should there be fail in both instances, then we have consulted with our attorney and we will pursue whatever legal options are afforded to us.
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