Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit believes that education reform is important as the Caribbean faces a surge in violent crimes.
Speaking at a round table regional symposium on crime and violence in Trinidad on Monday, he said the education system must concentrate on students and their development rather than just passing exams.
“I think we need to have, in my respectful view, a comprehensive review of our education system in the Caribbean,” he stated. ”
“Our school systems now are focused solely on preparing students for examinations, external examination, national examinations and there is absolutely no time in the five hours or so that the students spend in the school setting for anything to do with the welfare and well-being of the children. We don’t take time to understand where they come from, where they live, their economic circumstance and to appreciate their behaviors in the classroom.”
Following the symposium, the prime minister hopes there is an “urgent review” of the regional education system.
“I believe that that would help tremendously in helping to dry up the recruitment ground for these violent behaviors,” Skerrit said. “Because we are talking about guns but we must also focus on anti-social behavior which sometimes leads to the extreme ends of using guns and other weapons to advance violent behaviors.”
According to the prime minister, the regional education system has moved from seven subjects per student at CXC and GCE to 15 and 18.
“The same five hours, it hasn’t been increased but we increased the number of subjects being offered to our students,” he stated. “Sports and physical education have taken second place. Extracurricular activities in the classroom no longer exist.”
He pointed out that while the percentage of passes in CXC and other exams are being boasted about, there is a failure to address the 20 or 30 percent of those that did not pass.
“And I think we are focusing on those who do well academically but we fail to pay attention to the mental and emotional state of our children,” he said.
Skerrit also pointed to various groups in society, who he said are abdicating their social responsibilities.
“The whole concept of it takes a village to raise a child, now it is solely up to the ministry of education to educate our children,” he stated.
“Where are our parents and guardians? Where is the clergy in its missionary work, its evangelical work? Where is the business community? The business community, we are more concerned about the dollar profits and we only talk about crime when it affects our businesses, not because our children are dying [unnecessarily].”
Skerrit believes the different groups in society must spend more time examining what their contribution is to addressing the social challenges regional countries face. He stated that reviewing the education system will help current and successive generations to follow the straight and narrow path.
“We are focusing on the problem, I think the education system will help us in a proactive and preemptive way to almost dry up the source, the recruits, the 20 and 30 and 40 percent of young people who are not academically successful and who we define as failures in society,ā he stated.
The symposium was organized by the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Keith Rowley. Addressing the opening of the event on Monday, he said violence is āthreatening to destroy our paradise in the Caribbean Sea.ā
āViolence in the Caribbean is a public health emergency which threatens our lives, our economies, our national security, and by extension, every aspect of our well-being,ā he remarked.
To drive home his point, he gave statistics on crime in his home country.
āIn Trinidad and Tobago in the years 2011 to 2022, we have lost, and we had to grieve for, 5,439 lives lost to violent murders largely through the use of imported firearms and ammunition,ā he said. āIn 2011, we lost 352 lives and by 2022, the annual count was over 600, a new record already being challenged by the murder rate for 2023.ā
The symposium is being held under the theme: Violence as a Public Health Issue – The Crime Challenge.
The best crime fighting component that needs added to education reform has to be African Studies or Black Studies. When our youth and others know or have a better idea who they are, like many other groups of people, like India, Chinese, Arabs, white-Jews etc. Plain and simple, no matter how much $money is thrown at this.
Rubbish that. So Skerrit is not educated then? How then he is so close to criminals like Aleriza Monfared when he knew he was a wanted? In fact they had Monfared hiding in Dominica for months and I saw him with top government officials riding In Government vehicles. In fact the educated Roosevelt Skerrit used his education to lie to us when he told us that the known Alereza Monfared is is a GOOD man from Malaysia that loves Dominica and wants to help us? I will not say anything about Mehul Choksi and how he found himself in Dominica I guess by uneducated people.
So NO Skerrit the type of education you are telling us about does the opposite of fight crime
Skerrit, when do you stop babbling BS. Letās start talking electoral reform. You have forgotten about it? No doubt you thought the country would too. Let me tell you, itās not going away and ultimately it will be your political downfall.
Is the “me-the-people” double doctorate dude trying to pass the buck and now trying to have folks blame the education system for the failure of leadership by his and other corrupt populist leaders. The crop of current leaders have dropped the ball and created an environment where accumulation of personal wealth is paramount in the region these days. In Dominica the police force and the rest of the judiciary have failed to continue to carry out their mandate to serve the people by enforcing the existing laws without fear or favor, and have become compromised, weak and political. When a leader can have a populace put him on a pedestal with honorary degrees instead of real educational achieved doctorates, no wonder he’s trying to blame the education system. Sir, it’s the breakdown of law and order and the weakening of government institutions and by extension family values which are the causes to be fixed to solve the crime epidemic in the region. Stop passing the buck.
I forgot to say it is not education reform that is needed but profoundly electoral Reform in Dominica.
Give us electoral reform; then you can talk crap!
What is education reform?
Education reform comprises any planned changes in the way a school or school system functions, from teaching methodologies to administrative processes.
Then again political reform comes through debate which leads to the action or process of reforming an institution or practice.
Where it pertains to violence, no amount of education can prevent a criminal from committing crimes! How do people teach politicians, prime ministers and their subordinates not the be a damn thief because stealing is a felony punishable by serving time in jail.
How do we reform a pathetic compulsive liar not to lie; some habits are learned, especially in societies where the social and economic life differs between the have and have not!
You heard some one spoke some fart, you picked it up but you make no sense been repetitive!
The KEY foundational issue at the root of crime is SIN!!! SIN!!!
The world is becoming increasingly brazen in pushing anti-God ideologies & the current crime situation is one of the resultant symptoms.
Osama Bin Laden & some Al Qaeda terrorists were university graduates but that did not stop them from becoming terrorists. Ayman al-Zawahiri was a medical doctor yet that did not stop him from engaging in terrorist crimes & taking over from Bin Laden as head of Al Qaeda.
Some say poverty contributes to crime. I agree in some instances yes. But then, how does one explain crimes committed by the rich or orchestrated by the rich or among the rich? And how does one explain the high crime rates in some of the richer more developed islands & countries?
To an extent, people are just guesstimating the reasons behind the crime rates. Some guesstimates are indeed contributory reasons but at the heart of the matter is SIN!!! When people/society reject God, it will reap the fruits.
What a bozzo!! Crime in the Caribbean has been a direct link to corruption in government and politicians associations with gang leaders to gain votes or like in case of Dominica; crooks to deceive an manipulate the people. If I did not read the headline I would think this conference is on education change. How about living within means so the 64k a month could go into school feeding program in every school. Apparently you did not consider the plight of kids then. How about building an economy that seeks to reduce unemployment and dependency so folks can take care of their families. How about letting people who violate the law face justice with politicians interference as to who to charge and whose case to drop. Racketeering, drug dealings, state assisted kidnapping, extra judicial killing go unpunished. As always skerrit will pass blame on everything and everyone else. These politicians just need mirrors to find the problem of crime in Caribbean.
Shaka, you speak truth that cannot be refuted. Look at what happens leading up to and during the election campaigns.
Roosevelt and his party in cahoots with shady characters. Gangsters, thugs, known criminals campaigning for him, letting off bullets on the bay front with impunity, threatening law-abiding citizens who exercise their constitutional rights of freedom of speech.
Unbridled CORRUPTION throughout government ministries and departments is the main factor of the unprecedented violence and criminality in our society today.
Mr Skerrit, you doing a great and wonderful job for Dominica, I and many others do appreciate that! My question to you is how about suing ugly Lenny, and his coonies for slandering making false and damaging statement about you and your family, in my opinion this is not right and should be made an example of by taking them to the dry – cleaners it’s getting out of hand now only in Dominica š that nonsense could happen.
You see you would sue. Your political master knows better. All the accusations are true and he has nothing to prove otherwise. I mean, it would be very easy for him to present the CBI accounts for the past 20 years. Why doesnāt he do that? As far as you are concerned, you clearly got infected with rabies when biting your dogs and as such lost the gift of clear thinking. Why do you continue to defend the indefensible??? Your hero laughs at you every time you come on here and broadcast your BS. He thinks how can a human being be soooo dumb.
Stephany, people like you are the Dogs does that mean you have rabies? I am defensive to Mr Skerrit and the labour party administrations but I would never for the life of me support ugly Lenny, and his bunch of buttocks followers that will always remain behind.
Dog Abuser, even Roosevelt is surprised when people believe the things he says. If Roosevelt were to leak on you, you will call it holy water.
š¤£ššNice one Ibo, likey keep the jokes coming!!!
Who is responsible for education in Dominica? Donāt we have a Minister of education, reporting to A Prime Minister, who runs things and was a teacher and minister of education himself in the past? And who was it that did away with vocational training at the highly rated Dupigny College? Our people really have memoir poule sad to say.
Be careful Man Dog what you ask fore because there might be evidence that ugly Leno as you term him might have that can destroy Roosevelt!
How many times has the corrupted crook Roosevelt Skerrit sued Lennox Linton Thomson Fountain and other members of the UWP, and the case simple remained dormant?
In a law suit there are always two sides, the one with the most relevant evidence is always the winner; Roosevelt is so damn corrupt, he has already placed so much evidence in Lennox lap that can be used against the crook and notorious thief Black Beard the pirate, that I doubt the pirate would chance suing anybody.
The crook Trump sued Cohen for five billion dollars, in the process he put himself in a position where he has to produce disclosures that seems to have cleared Cohen form any and all liabilities.
Do you think Roosevelt want to risks such fate?
āAnd I think we are focusing on those who do well academically but we fail to pay attention to the mental and emotional state of our children,ā he said.
This is it right there….too many of our young people are depressed and there is a growing number of our men (not wanting to be sexist) with mental problems.
We have to realise that it is just as important to take care of the emotional needs of our children, just as their physical needs. In the world that we are living today, just providing basic needs for our children is no longer sufficient; we have to instill morals and values in them and protect them from this crazy world.
Most of these criminals who are out there committing crimes do not want to be educated. You mention to them about educating themselves to get a decent job, they laugh at you and spurn your friendship. They are all about making money the dirtiest way they can and rob people of what they have worked hard for all their lives. They want nice cars now and lots of women. We need to get guns off the streets to begin with and getting guns out of the hands of the wrong people. Parents need to be more responsible and start nurturing their kids from the cradle up, that way they can squeeze the best out of them as they grow up to be young men and women.
You are clearly talking about your hero, that gangster CM.
I disagree. Never mind education. You and your cabal, some f which are educated people, need be thrown in jail and I promise our level of crime in DA will get back to normal. When are you going to account properly for our CBI money and the missing PetroCaribe dollars? You pretend itās all other peoples faultā¦
Perhaps my various DNO Commentaries on the need for education reform, have not gone amiss.
We can start by abolishing the outmoded common entrance; a colonial hand-me -down that to my mind ranks as child abuse. That can be followed by putting all aspects of the creative arts high on the education agenda.
With those two reforms under our belt, we’ll be getting somewhere.
Garbage. The common entrance is just a test to measure the students’ abilities and preparedness and to decide how and where they could fit in to begin with at a higher institution. Secondary education is universal now. It does not matter whether you failed or passed the common entrance. You still get in. Some students do need remedial classes. The common entrance is one way of finding out who needs it before classes commence in earnest.
This is a man who has been at the apex of government for the last two decades. What fundamental changes has his administration made to revolutionise education to positively impact students and teachers?
All public schools lack the necessary resources that are needed to function optimally. The DSC, the only tertiary institution for students graduating secondary school, was kept in a state of gross disrepair. The teachers are justifiably disgruntled due to neglect of their employer.
Deeds not words will bring about the fundamental changes that are needed. Roosevelt pronouncing about education to curb crime is only geared to make the news. Invariably, DBS, Kairi, GIS and DNO for sure will give him the publicity he seeks.
Roosevelt mouthing off about the good education can do for the youth, is like listening to Satan giving a lecture on morals and ethics.
Start at home and be the catalyst for change.
Electoral reform is a simply process developed to prevent electoral fraud and disfranchisement as we see in Dominica. Electoral reform includes any reforms to the electoral and political systems that make lawmakers more accountable to the people who elect them.
You Roosevelt is the culprit in this thing:
” Roosevelt Skerrit believes that education reform is important as the Caribbean faces a surge in violent crimes.”( Roosevelt Skerrit).
Shut up Roosevelt that’s simple rubbish, anyplace in the Caribbean where the voting public, the people thought electoral was necessary, they requested it, the leaders of the nations process the reform, in Antigua they called for electoral reform which materialized in a matter of weeks.
In Dominica you fear such reforms, hence you keep running your mouth as you are doing now without doing anything to clean the voter registration list by removing all the names such as my dead parents, and other relatives.
The crime that would prevent is voter…
Con:
The only crime that electoral reform would prevent in Dominica is voter fraud, the fraud which keeps you in office; but if a new voter law would dictate that you Roosevelt should account for where you get the billions of dollars from to buy votes that would be a good change in the corrupted voter system in the country!
Electoral clintelism patronage politics occurs when political party or candidates distributes money or other resources to a voter prior to an election expecting that voter will vote for the politician handing out monitory rewards.
That is a crime you Roosevelt commits every five years; reform in Dominica if it is not bogus, and crooked should change that.
All you are babbling right now are simply hypocritical words?
You do not want electoral reform, you like corruption, and can’t exist without breaking the laws of Dominica!
Shut up boy!
That’s a hypocrite that was the Minister of Education in Dominica, a hypocrite that has been a member of parliament for 23 years and a hypocrite that has been prime minister for 19 years..Myriad times, he has heard about the need to transform our education system, but he has been too busy…………. Now the nobrainer is among other people feeling embarrassed, and obviously out of his depths, so he is insincerely reading what was prepared for him. I will continue to say that this guy does not love young people.He truncates their dreams. He is egotistic, narcissistic, selfcentered and insincere. An evil embarrassment really. It’s like he just became a minister of government yesterday, and prime minister today!!
Wucked!
Nice chatter!!!!! Was the kidnapping of Choksi a crime? What does our education system have to do with that? Who were the alleged criminals associated with that act? Why are our authorities SILENT about that alleged criminal act, but are in Trinidad wailing about managing CRIME? Well dressed and sipping fine teas, too?