Two religious organisations, representing the Muslim and Hindu faiths, are in strong support of the suggestion that the week of Carnival be declared a holiday week for the nation’s schools.
But the caveat is that the week be taken out of existing school vacation periods and not affect any more school days.
Statistics released on Ash Wednesday by the Education Ministry revealed that 82 per cent of secondary school stayed home and 74 per cent of primary school students were absent.
Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan said the idea of no school during the week of Carnival will have to be revisited given the continued decline in student attendance after Carnival.
Seecharan said even if that is done they will “maintain the 39 weeks for the school year but not have school during the Carnival week.”
As the debate rages for yet another year in light of declining attendance at schools on Ash Wednesday, both the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) and Anjuman Sunnat-Ul-Jamaat (ASJA) are saying yes to the proposal.
But Seventh Day Adventist pastor Clive Dottin says absolutely not. All three religious organisations manage primary and secondary schools in T&T.
The initiative was first implemented under the Basdeo Panday administration in the 1995-2000 period when Dr Adesh Nanan sat in the chair as Education Minister.
Nanan said Anthony Garcia, who was then president of the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) supported the initiative.
But it was only done once because of the public outcry, including criticisms from the then Opposition PNM.
Speaking to the T&T Guardian ASJA president Yacoob Ali said “my position is that it is a commendable recommendation,” and Secretary General of the SDMS Sat Maharaj said the proposal has “my full support.”
Both men agreed that children and their parents are “exhausted” after the Carnival period.
Maharaj said students are now such an “integral part” of Carnival that many of them are exhausted after the actual two days and are unable to attend school. He said “so much emphasis is placed on children participating in Carnival and even the Minister pushing for children to participate in Carnival events.”
Maharaj said “it used to be that the children will just stay home on Ash Wednesday but now is the entire week many of them not coming to school.”
This impacts teaching in the classroom and as a result he said he would give his support to calls for the schools to be given the week off, “but only if it is taken from another holiday period, so they could readjust without sacrificing any more school days.”
He suggested that one of the main vacation periods Easter, July/August or Christmas could be shortened.
The ASJA president said he saw nothing wrong with the suggestion since “many other countries give short breaks.”
He said the week could simply be taken out of the “summer break, shorten the July/August vacation period.”
Ali said the break will allow the children “to look at mas, not to take part in it, but to look at it.”
He said many parents are “tired after Carnival and would not be burdened with having to drop and pick up their children at school.”
But Dottin said “I despise the suggestion.”
Dottin said he could not support the idea because “there is too much indiscipline in this country and all of this is adding to the indiscipline. We need more discipline in society not less,” he said.
According to Dottin several schools suffer weeks before the actual Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
“You know how much time is lost to Carnival?” He said many students participate in many carnival school competitions.
Dottin said even the church camps need to get their act together as many of them wait until Ash Wednesday to break their camps “but they need to break their camps on Tuesday to ensure that children are back in school on Wednesday.”
President of the National Parent Teachers Association Zena Ramatali said there has been an annual discussion on the issue “and nothing changes, every year we talking about the same thing. The bottom line is that this is a very unproductive week and some solution must be found to this absenteeism after Carnival.”
