Trinidad approves mandatory military training for expelled students

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government has approved a mandatory programme for expelled students to transition to the Military-Led Academic Training (MiLAT) Programme.

Education Minister, Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, confirming that 10 students had been expelled from schools so far this year, up from three last year, said Cabinet at its meeting on Thursday had approved the move.

“So, for students who have to be removed from the school system, students who have to be expelled after all efforts have been made, we have already approved compulsory registration into the MiLAT programme for such students,” she told a news conference.

The education minister acknowledged that while the MILAT programme currently does not cater for boys, she said there are other government programmes accessible for training, such as after-school classes with free Caribbean Examination Council's (CXC) Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC).

Gadsby-Dolly said while the number of pupils who are expelled in any given year is very small, the majority of students who displayed misbehaviour in schools changed their behaviour when they accessed student support services.

“Let me emphasise that the difference between the number of students who are suspended to the number of students who are expelled in any given year is huge.

“Most students, when the discipline matrix is enforced and they are suspended and they get into the hands of the student support services, are able to transform their behaviour, are able to work with their parents, the school and so on to adjust to the rules of the school to ensure that they get to the end point which is form five for most of them and form six for others,” Gadsby-Dolly said, noting however, there are pupils who for one reason or the other reach to the point of no return.

She said the Ministry of Education will reach out to other arms of the government to also lend support, adding that her Ministry informs the Ministry of Youth Development about pupils who have found themselves in the situation of being expelled.

“We also reach out to the Ministry of Social Development, and Ministry of National Security, informing them that these students have been expelled and require their assistance in terms of family counselling, in terms of any attention they can give and exposure to programmes available from the Government,” Gadsby-Dolly said.

She said this approach means that pupils are not being cast aside, noting that “even though they coming out of the Ministry of Education system there are other provisions coming from the government to deal with these students and to assist them in ways the Ministry of Education cannot so that they can lead productive lives at the end.”

But, she cautioned parents that the Ministry of Education cannot allow pupils to disrupt learning in schools, maintaining that the Ministry would do everything in its power to ensure that teachers and students have a safe environment that is conducive to learning.

Gadsby-Dolly said additional staff members have been hired to help with the transformative nature of school discipline.

“We have provisions in the law as well as the discipline matrix to deal with students who despite our best efforts are not transforming their behaviour.

“As I have said before, parents, teachers, students…if with our best efforts we are not transforming then we have to consider the fact that other students are being disrupted and if students in our schools are not transforming and not adhering to our discipline matrix then there are provisions to remove them from that environment and to assist them in a different way to what is available from the government.”

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