President of the TT Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA), Martin Lum Kin, said the union will endorse and support “any project or initiative that deals with remedial students and those who are kept back.”
He made the statement in an interview following the Education Ministry’s announcement on Monday that it would be expanding its remediation programme, which is set to benefit 106 schools across the primary and secondary levels.
Lum Kim said however, “What we are cautioning the Ministry of Education, our teachers and general public is that when projects like these impact on terms and conditions of employment, that they’re wary of it.
“When there are projects outside of their normal working hours, it cannot be mandated. It has to be voluntary.”
He said the programme “seems to be a pretty good one,” but he said it is important to note that even schools that are performing well, based on the ministry’s standards, still have students who face challenges.
“There are schools who are borderline – just meeting the standards…We are hoping it could be extended to those schools as well.”
He said this programme can benefit all schools.
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