Teachers lived well on their promise to stay away from the nation’s schools on the first day of the new school term on Monday 5th September, 2022.
• According to the Ministry of Education, 16,819 (17%) of students went to school while (83%) stayed away; 1,393 teachers showed up for school while 73% were absent in Primary Schools.
• In Secondary Schools, 28,738 (39%) of students were at school while 61% stayed away. There were 1,851 (31%) teachers present and 69% absent.
• 53% of teachers in the Denomination al schools were absent, 47% were present. Also, 32% of students were absent & 68% were present.
• In the Government Schools, 75% of teachers were absent while 25% showed up for classes. 74% of pupils were absent and 26% were present.
• The Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) estimated that 85 to 90 per cent of teachers stayed away from classes today.
• Less than 10% of teachers reported for work in Tobago after the TTUTA called for teachers to rest and reflect.
• The union had called on its members to take today to “rest and reflect” as a response to the Government’s 4 per cent salary increase offer for the period 2014 – 2019.
• TTUTA president Antonia Defreitas, said that a statement has to be made and it’s not just the rejection of the 4%, but the entire education system.
TTUTA President Antonia Defreitas, noted that although schools were scheduled to be reopened on Monday 05th September, 2022, some of the schools are still undergoing repairs and are not fully equipped for the academic year.
• She disclosed that work had only begun last week and would have to continue throughout the week.
• Defreitas expressed her disappointment, as the state had all eight weeks, and even before that, to solve the issue of school repairs.
• She added that this is an indication to citizens of how significant the state views our students working and learning environments.
