Trinidad and Tobago

by Paul Bacsich for Re.ViCa. Updated by James Kay of Sero for VISCED

For entities in Trinidad and Tobago see Category:Trinidad and Tobago

Partners situated in Trinidad and Tobago

None.

Trinidad and Tobago in a nutshell

Trinidad and Tobago, in full the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west.

The population is estimated at 1.3 million (2005).

The capital is Port of Spain (on Trinidad) but the largest city is San Fernando.

The country covers an area of 5,128 square kilometres (1,980 sq mi) and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands; Tobago is much smaller, comprising about 6% of the total area and 4% of the entire population.

The nation lies outside the hurricane belt.

Trinidad and Tobago was a Spanish colony from the times of Christopher Colombus to 1802, when it was ceded to Britain. The country obtained independence in 1962. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals. Trinidad and Tobago is known for its Carnival and was the birthplace of steelpan, calypso, soca, and limbo.

Source : http://www.cia.gov

Schools in Trinidad and Tobago

Children generally start pre-school at the early age of 3 years. This level of tuition is not mandatory but most children start school at this stage as children are expected to have basic reading and writing skills when they commence primary school. Students proceed to a primary school at the age of 5 years. Seven years are spent in primary school. The seven classes of primary school consists of Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, followed by Standard One through Standard Five. During the final year of primary school, students prepare for and sit the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) which determines the secondary school the child will attend.

Students attend secondary school for a minimum of five years, leading to the CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) examinations, which is the equivalent of the British GCSE O levels. Children with satisfactory grades may opt to continue high school for a further two year period, leading to the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE), the equivalent of GCE A levels. Both CSEC and CAPE examinations are held by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). Public Primary and Secondary education is free for all, although private and religious schooling is available for a fee.

Tertiary education is also free for all, however, up to the level of the Bachelors degrees for all students of the University of the West Indies (UWI), the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) and certain other local accredited institutions. Government also currently subsidises some Masters programmes. Both the Government and the private sector also provide financial assistance in the form of academic scholarships to gifted or needy students for study at local, regional or international universities.

Higher education

Universities in Trinidad and Tobago

There are three main universities:

1. University of the West Indies - St. Augustine campus
2. University of the Southern Caribbean (previously known as Caribbean Union College)
3. University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT)

Polytechnics in Trinidad and Tobago

Other Institutes include:

1. Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute
2. Roytec
3. School of Business and Computer Science (SBCS)
4. School of Accounting and Management (SAM)
5. School of International Travel and Languages (SITAL)
6. BorderCom International (BCI)
7. College of Science and Applied Arts of Trinidad (COSTAATT) & Tobago school of Higher Education

ICT in education initiatives

Other initiatives

• Trinidad and Tobago Distance Learning Secretariat

• Trinidad and Tobago E-Classroom

• National Library and Information Systems Authority (Trinidad)

Distance Education Unit of the Ministry of education

The Distance Education Unit, established in the Ministry in May 2004, has a mandate to develop and implement strategies for the modernization of the distance learning services of the Ministry of Education (MOE). The Unit will do this by:

• Developing policy for distance education and lifelong learning;
• Serving as a centre of expertise for open and distance learning and its applications within the Ministry of Education
• Sourcing, adapting and developing distance-delivered programmes;
• Creating an enabling environment to support the widespread use of distance learning modalities;
• Championing initiatives to establish a sustainable SchoolNetT&T system; and
• Promoting open and distance learning as a feasible complementary modality in the pursuit of lifelong learning.

The strategic focus of the Distance Education Unit is to create an efficient and effective organizational structure to develop, manage and support a sustainable open school system for lifelong learning in Trinidad and Tobago.

This Open and Distance Learning initiative will service the in-school population, provide a safety net to school dropouts of any age and provide a “second chance” education to those who cannot attend conventional schools for a variety of social and economic reasons.

The Distance Education Unit will champion the establishment of an open school system in Trinidad and Tobago by collaborating with divisions and departments within and external to the MOE to implement initiatives, programmes and projects. The Unit’s main goals for the period 2006 – 2010 are as follows:

• To establish an organizational structure with the necessary personnel and functional and support areas to govern, develop, manage and sustain an open school system
• To develop and/or adapt distance learning courses and resources in print and electronic media formats in areas aligned with the curriculum outcomes of the MOE
• To convert the MOE’s traditional face-to-face print educational offerings to multimedia distance education (DE) formats
• To provide professional development via blended distance learning approaches to teachers seeking training in areas pertaining to ICT integration in the curriculum
• To develop and implement an ODL delivery and support system for students (lifelong learners) and ODL tutors;
• To establish an ODL resource centre at the Distance Education Unit
• To establish a system for research, monitoring and evaluation
• To market distance education as a feasible compliment/alternative to traditional modes of study.

Projects undertaken by the Unit in recent times include:

• Organizing the Caribbean Association for Distance and Open Learning (CARADOL) launch and symposium
• The Annual National Schools CyberFair
• PhotoConnect
• SchoolnetT&T cluster projects
• VUSSC – Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth
• Establishing an Open and Distance Learning Resource Center
• Distributing Open Education Resources to schools
• Introducing teacher educators to educational technologies for teacher training
• Piloting the use of collaborative technologies for teaching and learning, such as videoconferencing and interactive whiteboards

http://www.moe.gov.tt/units_DEU.html

Lessons learnt

None so far.

References

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For OER policies and projects in Trinidad and Tobago see Trinidad and Tobago/OER

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