Draft Admin Report 2011/2012

A publication of the Educational Planning Division, Ministry of
Education
Layout and design by the Corporate Communications Division, Ministry
of Education
© Ministry of Education, June 2013
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or redistributed in any
form without the prior written permission of the publishers.

I know of no more encouraging
fact than the unquestionable
ability of man to elevate his
life by conscious endeavour
- Henry Thoreau
“
”
Foreword
FPO
A w a i t i n g
M i n i s t e r ’ s
Speech

Admin Report
2011-2012 2
A w a i t i n g
M i n i s t e r ’ s
Speech

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2011-20123
Contents
FOREWORD 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 10
INTRODUCTION 13
CHAPTER 1: DESIGN AND DEVELOP A QUALITY EDUCATION SYSTEM 16
1. Integrating Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Education- eCal
Laptop Initiative 17
2. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) 21
3. Improving Infrastructure in Schools 24
4. Curriculum Reform 26
5. Enhanced Literacy and Numeracy 26
6. Movement of Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) from March to May 26
7. Expansion of the Technical/Vocational Programme 27
8. Teaching and Teacher Development 29
9. Improving Students Overall Academic Performance 30
10. Testing and Neuro-Diagnostics of Children 38
11. Continuous Assessment 40
12. Career Guidance and Development in Secondary Schools 40
13. Social Programmes 41
CHAPTER 2: TRANSFORMING THE MINISTRY INTO A HIGH PERFORMING ORGANIZATION 44
2.1 Organizational Restructuring and Institutional Strengthening 45
2.2 Human Resource Management and Strengthening 46
2.2.1 Staffing 46
Teaching Service 47
Civil Service 49
CHAPTER 3: ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS IN THE CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION PROCESS 52
3.1 Engaging Stakeholders 53
3.2 Community Participation 54
3.3 Consultation with ECCE Providers 56
CHAPTER 4: FINANCIAL REVIEW 58
4.1 Recurrent Expenditure 59
4.2 Development Expenditure 62
CHAPTER 5: THE WAY FORWARD 64

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List of Key Boxes, Tables and Figures
LIST OF KEY BOXES
Box 1: Priorities for the attainment of a Quality Education System 16

LIST OF KEY TABLES
Table 1 Location of Nineteen (19) Early Childhood Care and Education Sites 22
Table 2 Number and Percentage of Students Placed in Secondary Schools by School Type: SEA 2008 – 2012 33
Table 3 Number and Percentage of Students invited to Repeat SEA: 2008 - 2012 34
Table 4 CSEC 2012: Number of students attaining five (5) or more subjects including Mathematics
and English A at government and government assisted secondary schools 36
Table 5 CAPE Unit I and II – 2008 – 2012 [Grades I – IV] 37
Table 6 Pilot Schools re: Testing and Neuro-Diagnostics of Children Project 39
Table 7 Distribution of meals by level and cost as at May 31st, 2012 42
Table 8 Ministry of Education’s Financial Allocation (2008 - 2012) 58
Table 9 Summary of Recurrent Expenditure for the Ministry of Education (2011 – 2012) 60
Table 10 Major recurrent expenditure under sub-heads for fiscal 2011 - 2012 61
Table 11 Summary of Development Expenditure for fiscal 2011 - 2012 63
Table 12 Budgetary Allocation of fiscal 2012 - 2013 64

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LIST OF KEY FIGURES

Figure 1 Education and Development System Model 9
Figure 2 Value Outcomes for our Children 14
Figure 3 Minister of Education Dr. the Honourable Tim Gopeesingh [centre] with students
during thedistribution of laptops 17
Figure 4 Participants at ECCE Consultation 21
Figure 5 St. Barbara’s Spiritual Baptist Primary School 25
Figure 6 Arima New Government Primary School 25
Figure 7 Aranguez North Secondary School 25
Figure 8 Aranguez North Secondary School 25
Figure 9 Ministry’s Executive Team and Conference Presenters 30
Figure 10 The percentage of Students who registered for CSEC over the period 2011- 2012 35
Figure 11 The total number of Boys and Girls who wrote CSEC in 2012 35
Figure 12 CSEC 2012 – Grades I – III Awarded by Subject Entries 36
Figure 13 Ministry of Education Officials, CXC Officials and Students at Awards Ceremony 38
Figure 14 Celebrations at the Ministry of Education 50

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Acronyms & Abbreviations
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
ASJA Anjuman Sunnat-Ul-Jamaat Association
CAC Continuous Assessment Component
CAPE Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination
CARICOM The Caribbean Community
CCETT Caribbean Centre of Excellence for Teacher Training
COLA Cost of Living Allowance
CSEC Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate
CSO Central Statistical Office
CVQs Caribbean Vocational Qualifications
CXC Caribbean Examinations Council
DERE Division of Educational Research and Evaluation
eCal e-Connect and Learn
ECCE Early Childhood Care and Education
EFCL Education Facilities Company Limited
EPD Educational Planning Division
GCE A’Level General Certificate of Education – Advanced Level
GCE O’Level General Certificate of Education – Ordinary Level
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GER Gross Enrolment Ratio
GORTT Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
HIV Human Immuno-deficiency Virus
IDB Inter-American Development Bank
ICT Information and Communications Technology
JBTE Joint Board of Teacher Education
MOE Ministry of Education
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
NCSE National Certificate of Secondary Education

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NEC National Examination Council
NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations
NOSTT National Open School of Trinidad and Tobago
NPTA National Parent-Teacher Association
NSDSL National Schools Dietary Services Limited
NTA National Training Agency
PISA Programme for International Student Assessment
PMAP Performance Management and Appraisal Process
PTA Parent-Teacher Association
PTSC Public Transport Service Corporation
SEED South Eastern Education District
SESP Seamless Education System Programme
SEA Secondary Entrance Assessment
SEMP Secondary Education Modernization Programme
SERVOL Service Volunteered for All
SSSD Student Support Services Division
SSTs School Support Teams
TII/III Teacher II / III
TEST Tertiary Education, Science and Technology
TETPPU Teacher Education and Teacher Performance Project Unit
TIA Tackveeyatul Islamic Association
TML Trinidad Muslim League
TTDD Teaching and Teacher Development Division
TTUTA Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’Association
TVET Technical/Vocational, Education and Training
TVI/II/III/IV Technical/Vocational Teacher I / II/ III/ IV
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UTT University of Trinidad and Tobago
VPA Violence Prevention Academy

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Vision, Mission, Education and
Development of the Child
Vision
The Ministry is a high performing and dynamic organization leading a quality education system
that is responsive to the diverse needs of 21st
century learners to contribute to the education and
versatility of holistically developed children who are able to satisfy the human capital needs and
sustainable development of society.
Mission
To educate and develop children who are: able to fulfil their full potential; healthy and growing
normally; academically balanced; well-adjusted socially and culturally; and emotionally mature
and happy.

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9

andhappy.
EducationandDevelopmentoftheChild
Figure1:EducationandDevelopmentSystemModel

Figure1:EducationandDevelopmentSystemModel

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O
ver the last two and a half years the Ministry of Education
on behalf of the government ofTrinidad andTobago laid a
strong foundation for the re-engineering of the education
system. Guided by its Education Sector Strategic Plan 2011-2015
and the sixteen priorities for the development of the education
system,the Ministry has sought to build a quality system on the
blocks of transparency, accountability and collaboration with
stakeholders and the general public. Through the process of
people participation and collaboration, the Ministry succeeded
in implementing several initiatives outlined in its strategic plan
and conceptualized under the sixteen priority areas.
Executive Summary

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By the close of fiscal 2011-2012, the
Ministry had made significant progress in
the majority of the priority areas which
are highlighted here.
The Laptop Initiative and eConnect
and Learn Programme
Represents a comprehensive set of projects,
one of which is the distribution of laptops
to students entering secondary schools. For
the academic year 2012-2013, 17,058 laptops
were distributed to Form I students who
entered school in September 2012. As the eCal
Programme continues to develop, students are
being exposed to a wider array of information
due to more educational software being made
available to them.
Ensuring the attainment of Universal
Early Childhood Care and Education
Work continued on the approaches adopted by
theMinistrytoprovideuniversalearlychildhood
care and education by 2015. However there were
some challenges including the acquisition of
sites and the leadership and functioning of the
ECCE Unit for which the Ministry continued to
seek solutions.
Improving and expanding Teacher
Training
Teacher training remains critical to the success
of the transformational initiatives such as
changes in curricula and the expansion of
educational opportunities for students. In
collaboration with private tertiary institutions,
plans are being developed for a comprehensive
training programme for teachers. Work is
ongoing in this area.
Implementing Curriculum Reform
Given the progress that was made during the
last year it is envisioned that the new primary
school curriculum will be ready for piloting in a
number of schools by September, 2013.
Testing and Neuro-Diagnostics of
Children
The Ministry has commenced processes to
implement a pilot exercise in sixteen (16)
selected schools toward the formulation and
application of the individualized treatment
packages based on the initial screening,
assessment and treatment of children from
three (3) years old and upwards.
Expanding the Caribbean Vocational
Qualification Programme (CVQ) to all
secondary schools
The expansion of this programme is expected
to increase the employability of persons by
providing skills-based certification that has
value in the world of work and also to ensure
that all secondary school graduates exit
secondary schools with evidence of a minimum
of at least one (1) CVQ Regionally - Approved
Occupational Standard (ROS).
Improving infrastructure in schools
The Ministry continues its efforts to provide
safe and secure school buildings through new
construction, installation of pre-engineered
structures and refurbishment of existing school
plant.
Enhancing literacy and numeracy
The underperformance of students in the areas
of literacy and numeracy continues to engage
the attention of the Ministry. A comprehensive
literacy and numeracy strategy is being
developed that will seek to improve students’
competencies in these key areas.
Improving academic performance
Thoseschoolsthatwereidentifiedasperforming
below the national standard based on the
results of the National Tests have been targeted
and are to be provided with additional support.
Through early intervention, underperformance

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is being addressed by focusing on students in
Infants Years One and Two and Standard One.
Moving the Secondary Entrance
Assessment Examination to May 2012
This was accomplished in collaboration
with and support from key stakeholders. The
examination was held on the 10th
May, 2012 and
was indeed a red-letter day in the history of the
SEA.
Continuous Assessment Programme
(CAP)
The Ministry will introduce a system of
School-Based Assessment for primary school
students. This will ensure that students are
assessed over a period of time in subjects such
as Physical Education; Visual and Performing
Arts (Music, Visual Arts, Dance, Theatre);
Citizenry Development; Health and Family Life
Education; Social Studies; Agricultural- Science;
Morals, Values and Ethics; Language Arts and
Mathematics. This initiative will be introduced
in the 2012-2013 academic year to Standard 4
and Standard 5 students.
Introducing career guidance and
development in secondary schools
Work continued on a number of initiatives
that will provide the required guidance and
instruction to students that will assist in their
career development and transition into the
world of work.
Ensuring organisational
restructuring and institutional
strengthening
This involves developing institutional
capability and capacity to effectively pursue the
Vision, Mission, Strategic Objective and Value
Outcomes for our children. To this end a new
top organisational structure was approved by
Cabinet.
Developing and marketing the
Ministry through a Corporate
Communication Strategy
The Communication Strategy is designed
to improve the way the Ministry shares
information, learns from others and
collaborates with its stakeholders. It also reflects
the Ministry’s approach to transparency, and
public engagement.
Developing and managing the human
resources
The effectiveness of the Ministry’s performance
dependsnotonlyonavailableresourcesbutalso
on the quality and competency of its human
resources. The engagement of a Consultant to
lead the transformation of the management
of the Ministry’s human resources is currently
being pursued.
Engaging and involving parents and
other key stakeholders
Stakeholder and parent engagement is vital in
order to effectively communicate with teachers,
students, parents and the general public that
are involved in public education. The Ministry
has been able to gain the public’s trust and
support to some extent for its transformation
initiatives. It will continue to work aggressively
in the future to build and sustain that trust.
In the coming months the Ministry will
continue to roll out its annual Business
Plan for the period 2012/2013 with
collaboration from its stakeholders as
it seeks to build an Education System
that offers hope and opportunities for
our children.

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2011-201213
T
he Ministry of Education’s Annual Administrative Report
presents the programmes, projects, initiatives and
operations undertaken in the education system for the fiscal
year 2011/2012. The achievements are the results of activities
undertaken to implement the sixteen (16) priorities. The priority
areas were identified in 2010 and since then the work started and
has continued unabated. Much emphasis is placed on these areas
sincetheyholdthekeytothetransformationandre-engineeringof
the education system. Notwithstanding, there were key operations
and functions that were executed during the last year that will be
covered in this report.
Introduction

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2011-2012 14
At the heart of all that is done at the Ministry are the value outcomes for our children that will
contribute to the development of the ideal child. Figure 2 below; highlights the characteristics of
the ideal child coming out of the Education and Development process.
Figure 2:Value Outcome for our Children
All transformational initiatives to be pursued will be aligned towards the satisfaction of these
Value Outcomes (Ref: Education Sector Strategic Plan 2011 – 2015].
The Annual Administrative Report 2011-2012 is structured around the Ministry’s three goals for the
Education system and the respective priorities that will support the attainment of those goals.
The goals are to:-
1. Design and Develop a Quality Education System.
2. Transform the Ministry into a Modern, High-Performing Organization.
3. Engage Stakeholders in the Transformation of the Education System
The sixteen priority areas which are highlighted and expanded upon in the chapters which follow
are expected to contribute to the attainment not only of these goals, but the value outcomes for our
children, and ultimately the GORTT’s main developmental pillar – “People Centred Development. “
13

achievements are the results of activities undertaken to implement the sixteen (16) priorities.
The priority areas were identified in 2010 and since then the work started and has continued
unabated. Much emphasis is placed on these areas since they hold the key to the transformation
and re-engineering of the education system. Notwithstanding, there were key operations and
functions that were executed during the last year that will be covered in this report.
At the heart of all that is done at the Ministry are the value outcomes for our children that will
contribute to the development of the ideal child. Figure 2 below; highlights the characteristics of
the ideal child coming out of the Education and Development process.
Figure 2: VALUE OUTCOMES FOR OUR CHILDREN
All transformational initiatives to be pursued will be aligned towards the satisfaction of these Value
Outcomes (Ref: Education Sector Strategic Plan 2011 – 2015].
The Annual Administrative Report 2011-2012 is structured around the Ministry’s three goals for
the Education system and the respective priorities that will support the attainment of those goals.

Goal 1
Design and Develop a Quality Education System
CHAPTER ONE

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2011-2012 16
DesignandDevelopaQualityEducationSystem
A
quality education system will undoubtedly foster the
social and economic development of the country and by
extensiontheharmony,respect,disciplineandproduction
needed for a cohesive society. As such the inputs and the
processes that are inextricably linked to the making of a quality
education system such as qualified teachers, new or improved
school infrastructure and relevant curriculum, appropriate
legislation, enabling teaching and learning environment etc are
currently being addressed. These issues are being addressed
through the Ministry’s sixteen priorities. Twelve priorities are
aimed at improving the quality of the teaching and learning
and directly support our goal to “Design and Develop a Quality
Education System”
Educational Priorities
1. Integrating ICTs in Education – Laptop
Initiative
7. Expansion of the Technical Vocational
Programme
2. Universal Early Childhood Care and
Education
8. Teacher Training and Development
3. Improving Infrastructure in Schools 9. Improving Students Overall Academic
Performance
4. Curriculum Reform 10. Testing and Neuro-Diagnostics of
Children
5. Enhanced Literacy and Numeracy 11. Continuous Assessment Programme
6. Movement of the Secondary Entrance
Assessment to May
12. Career Guidance and Development in
Secondary Schools.
The last fiscal year saw steady progress towards fulfilling these priorities. The gains as well as
challenges are reported accordingly.
Box 1: Priorities for the attainment of a Quality Education System

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1.1 Laptop Distribution
The Ministry of Education has developed and
implemented the eConnect and Learn (eCaL)
Programme. The eCal programme was initiated
in the year 2010. One of the major outcomes
of the eCaL programme is transformation of
Education in Trinidad and Tobago through the
useofcontemporaryinstructionalstrategiesand
cutting edge Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) solutions. The goals of this
Programme are to:
i) improve the learning environment
for students in an ever-changing
information age;
ii) improve the quality of instruction
and support the infusion of ICT
in teaching and learning and the
development of 21st Century Skills
in students;
iii) reduce the inequity in access
to computers and information
between students from wealthy
and poor families;
iv) raise student achievement
through specific interventions
such as improving students’
understanding via the use of
education software; and
v) facilitate the development of
collaboration between peers
within schools, among schools and
between teachers and students.
1. Integrating Information Communication Technology (ICT) in
Education- eCaL Laptop Initiative
Figure 3: Minister of Education Dr. the Honourable Tim Gopeesingh [centre]
with students during the distribution of laptops

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2011-2012 18
This Programme represents a comprehensive
set of Projects, one of which is the distribution of
Laptops to Students entering Secondary School.
Over the three (3) years of existence of this eCaL
Programme approximately fifty-five thousand
(55,000) students and four thousand (4,000)
teachers have been provided with laptops.
Included in these figures, are the seventeen
thousand and fifty-eight (17,058) laptops
that were distributed to Form One students
in 152 secondary schools for the academic
year 2012/2013 which commenced on the 3rd
September, 2012. All laptops were imaged with
productivity and education software including
but not limited to Microsoft Mathematics 4.0,
Microsoft Chemistry Add-in for Word and
Bing Maps. With the maturity and continuous
improvement of this eCaL Programme students
now have access to a wider array of information
and learning resources for subject areas of the
taught curriculum.
1.2 ICT Training for Teachers
In support of this eCaL Programme, teachers are
being encouraged and trained to develop ICT
enhanced teaching strategies. This is necessary
for the integration of ICTs into the curriculum
and into classroom learning and instructional
strategies. Teachers are charged with the
responsibility to provide quality teaching in
their classrooms while making creative use of
the resources to develop 21st
century skills in
students. Thisisimportantasweseektoprepare
our nation’s students to compete in an ICT
driven global economy.
During the three (3) year period of existence
of the eCaL Programme, approximately eight
thousand, four hundred (8,400) teachers were
trained in a series of courses aimed at equipping
staff with the necessary skills to infuse ICTs into
their teaching and learning strategies.
1.3 Assessment of the eCal
Programme
In addition to the distribution of Laptops
to students entering Form One, the eCal
programme also comprised numerous other
projects all geared toward achieving integration
of ICTs into the curriculum and educational
transformation. These other project initiatives
included:
1. Laptop Rollout;
2. Expansion of Secondary Schools’
Connectivity;
3. Digital Portal;
4. Digital Resources and Content;
5. Policy and Guidelines;
6. Marketing and Communications;
7. Monitoring and Evaluation;
8. Teacher Training; and
9. Infusion of ICT into Curriculum
Delivery.
To ascertain the benefits derived from this
Programmeaswellastheareasforimprovement,
the Educational Research and Evaluation
Division undertook an assessment of same in
the year 2011. The survey was undertaken to
determine the following:
1. ICT competence levels of key
stakeholders, namely principals,
teachers, students, parents;
2. The extent of use and access to
technology;

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2011-201219
3. Stakeholders knowledge and
understanding of the Ministry’s ICT
policies/guidelines; and
4. Stakeholders level of support for the
eCal Programme.
Along with the assessment, there was a
Monitoring and Evaluation component which
utilised an outcome-based framework for
evaluation of the Programme. The outcomes
of each Project stream were identified and
used to develop questionnaires which were
in turn re-administered to track changes, if
any, in use and access of ICTs. It also looked
at behavioural changes towards the use of ICT
among stakeholders. The expected outcomes
identified in each Project stream were adapted
for the purpose of administering the Initial
Survey and further modified to determine the
impact, if any, on key stakeholders.
The survey’s targeted population is delineated
below:
1. The Principals of sixty-seven (67)
secondary schools;
2. Students of two (2) randomly selected
classes from each of the sixty-seven
(67) secondary schools;
3. Parents of these selected students; and
4. Form 1 teachers in the eight (8) core
subjects (English Language, Integrated
Science, Mathematics, Physical
Education, Social Studies, Spanish,
Technology Education, Visual &
Performing Arts).
Of this target population, data were received
from the following for analysis:
1. Fifty-eight (58) Principals;
2. Seven hundred and twenty-nine (729)
teachers;
3. Three thousand, two hundred and
ninety-six (3,296) students; and
4. Two thousand, two hundred and
seventeen (2,217) parents.
The data from each of the surveys were analysed
to determine the impact, if any, of the eCal
Programme on stakeholders within the home
and school environments. Moreover the data
was examined to ascertain whether there is an
increase or decrease in:
• Stakeholders’useofandaccesstodigital
resources and content, that is, whether
there is an increase/decrease in the
percentage of teachers, students and
parents using and accessing relevant
digital content, through use of the
laptops;
• An increase/decrease in the level
of awareness of digital technologies
among stakeholders;
• Enhancement in the level of ICT skills
among teachers in their teaching
methods, and students in their learning
within the classroom;
• Theextentofactivestudentparticipation
and students’ performance in the
classroom;
• Teachers’ ability to infuse or integrate
ICT in their classroom teaching;
• The level of adherence to policy
compliance by teachers, parents and
learners with implementation of the
eCal Programme within the nation’s
schools; and
• The level of parental involvement in the
children’s education.
The findings from the survey indicated the
following:
1. That teachers already possess the basic
computer literacy skills; and
2. Most teachers still use the whole group
and textbook methods of classroom
instruction.

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2011-2012 20
Based on these findings, the following
recommendations were made:
1. Training should be completed in the
following areas:
1.1 use of a variety of strategies
for infusing/integrating ICT
technology into the curriculum;
1.2 for developing subject-related ICT
resources;
1.3 for providing teachers with skills
related to classroom teaching, and
methods of using the computers/
laptops/Internet to infuse or
integrate ICT into every subject
teaching unit;
1.4 in the use of the Internet to
engage individual and small
groups of students in order to
maximise student participation/
involvement;
1.5 how to teach students to apply
strategies for solving problems
using the laptops, and how to use
appropriate tools for learning,
collaborating,andcommunicating
using ICT;
1.6 use of Blogs and Wikis so teachers
can encourage active participation
among students during lesson
presentations;
2. Class sizes should be kept at levels that
allow teachers to give learners individual
and/or small group attention
for full and effective learning;
3. There should be greater communication
between home and school (relevant to
student performance) using e-mail;
4. More emphasis should be placed on
using the laptops for remedial learning
and tracking of student performance
levels; and
5. There should be further expansion of
the infrastructure in terms of greater
accessibility to Internet within the
classroom. (Reference e-Connect and
Learn Report Summary July 2011-
Ministry of Education, Trinidad and
Tobago).
The insights obtained from this assessment
could be used as guidelines for the overall
improvement and enhancement of the
programme.
1.4 Summary of the major
accomplishments for the laptop
initiative in Fiscal 2011- 2012:
• Distributed laptops to seventeen
thousand and fifty-eight (17,058) Form
I students in one hundred and fifty-
two (152) secondary schools for the
academic year 2012/2013;
• Distributed four hundred and sixty-
seven (467) laptops to primary school
principals;
• Trained eight thousand, four hundred
(8,400) teachers in ICT related courses;
• Collaborated with Microsoft to host the
eCal ICT in Education Innovative Award
competition to recognise the efforts
of teachers in infusing ICT into the
curriculum;
• Trained thirty-five (35) Curriculum
Officers, with the support of the
Distance Education Unit, to support
the integration of ICTs in curriculum
delivery;
• Developed ICT integrated instructional
packages for Forms 1-3 students in
seven (7) subject areas;
• Over thirteen thousand (13,000) Form I
students registered with NALIS to access
e-resources on the NALIS website, as
part of the eCal programme; and
• Conducted a post evaluation exercise of
the eCal programme.

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2. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
2.1 Construction of Centres
The Ministry of Education has been working
assiduously to achieve the Prime Minister’s
mandate to attain universal Early Childhood
Care and Education (ECCE) by 2015. While it
seems to be a herculean undertaking, one of
the immediate approaches adopted by the
Ministry to create “school space” for students
makes it an achievable target. The approach is
namely: the traditional construction of ECCE
Centres;public/private partnerships with
private ECCE providers and the conversion of
spaces at underutilized primary schools into
ECCE rooms.
With respect to the construction of new
Centres, over the past two years the Ministry
has completed the construction of twenty-nine
(29) ECCE Centres. As part of the IDB funded
Support for a Seamless Education Project fifty
(50) Centres are expected to be constructed
by August 2013. With respect to the twenty-
four (24) Centres in Phase I, construction
has commenced on the nineteen (19) sites
identified in Table I below, while staff are
working tirelessly to resolve the site related
issues for the remaining five sites. It is expected
that construction will commence on at least
two of these by the end of December 2012.
Figure 4: Participants at ECCE Consultation

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2011-2012 22
Table 1: Location of Nineteen (19) Early Childhood Care and Education Sites
No. ECCE CENTRE EDUCATION DISTRICT
1 Arima New Government ECCE St. George East
2 Arouca Pine Haven S.D.A. St. George East
3 Bamboo ECCE St. George East
4 Maloney Gardens II St. George East
5 Barataria A.C. ECCE St. George West
6 Buen Intento ECCE Victoria
7 Corinth Hill ECCE Victoria
8 Cunupia A.C ECCE Caroni
9 Jacob Hill ECCE St. George East
10 Madras ECCE Caroni
11 Palmiste ECCE Caroni
12 Quarry ECCE St. Patrick
13 Salazar Trace ECCE St. George East
14 Malabar ECCE St. George East
15 Mount Hope ECCE St. George East
16 Southern Gardens St. Patrick
17 La Ruffin ECCE Nariva/Mayaro
18 Brothers ECCE Victoria
19 Pleasantville ECCE Victoria

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2011-201223
2.2 Public/Private Partnership
Agreements
In an effort to meet the demand for places at
ECCE Centres, the Ministry is at the exploratory
stage of its proposal to partner with private
ECCE providers. To this end, a series of public
consultations were held during the last fiscal
year to gather information from stakeholders.
As a consequence of those consultations the
Ministry is at the stage of finalising different
private/public partnership models. Some of
the key considerations in selecting the final
model will be the financial cost, the readiness of
privateprovidersinmeetingtheECCEstandards
of the Ministry regarding curriculum and school
buildings and the sustainability of the project.
2.3 Conversion of Spaces at
underutilized Primary Schools for
Early Childhood Care and Education
(ECCE)
TheMinistryiscurrentlyexploringthefeasibility
of using the spaces at underutilized primary
schools for the purpose of early childhood
education. It was envisioned that this approach
wouldmaximizetheuseofunderutilizedspaces,
cut the cost of construction of new Centres and
provide feeder Centres for transition to existing
primary schools.
An initial physical assessment of approximately
forty-five primary schools was undertaken by
Educational Facilities Company Limited for
the project. As a result of a second assessment
done by representatives of the MOE, thirteen
(13) government primary schools qualified for
consideration since they had available land
space. The thirteen (13) government primary
schoolsare:ChaguanasNorth,Chatam,Cocoyea,
D’Abadie, Beetham Gardens, Enterprise, Egypt
Village, Hardbargain, Marabella, Nariva/
Manzanilla, Preysal, Penal Quinam and Rancho
Quemado. Disqualification of the remaining
thirty-two (32) sites was due to the challenges
and constraints that emerged namely:
• Additional space is required to facilitate
the introduction of the Continuous
Assessment Component (CAC) of SEA,
therefore those spaces that were earlier
identified are no longer available to
accommodate ECCE activities
• In spite of available land space, the
topography of the land in some cases
cannot support the construction of
centres
• The available land space in some
instances is too small to accommodate
the construction of centres
• Continued dialogue is needed with
the Denominational Boards to ensure
access to land in possession of the
Boards.
PROJECTIONS FOR 2013
• Complete the construction of fifty
(50) ECCE Centres under the IDB/
GORTT funded Support for a Seamless
Education Project
• Commence the roll-out of the plan to
convert excess space in under-utilized
primary schools for use as ECCE centres
• Sign MOUs between the Ministry of
Education and private ECCE service
providers and commence upgrade of
private ECCE centres through public/
private partnership arrangement.

Admin Report
2011-2012 24
3. Improving Infrastructure in Schools
3.1 Primary Schools
One of the major challenges facing primary
schools is the dilapidated condition of a
number of primary school buildings which are
well over 100 years old. The Ministry continues
to address these challenges primarily through
the construction of new schools and upgrades
to existing buildings. In the past two (2) years
the Ministry of Education completed the
construction of twelve (12) primary schools as
follows:-
1. St. Barbara’s Spiritual Shouter Baptist
Primary School (Figure 5)
2. Tunapuna Government
3. Balmain Presbyterian
4. Charlieville Presbyterian
5. Riversdale Presbyterian
6. Biche Presbyterian
7. Penal Rock Road SDMS,
8. Lengua Government
9. Palo Seco Government
10. Arima New Government (Figure 6)
11. Mt. Pleasant Government
12. Tulsa Trace Hindu
Another ten (10) schools are currently under
construction:-
1. Enterprise Government
2. Monkey Town Government
3. Fanny Village Government
4. Febeau Government
5. Rosehill R.C.
6. Eccles Village Government
7. New Grant Government
8. Paramin R.C.
9. Belmont Boys’ R.C.
10. Barrackpore A.S.J.A.
Further, the Ministry in its 2012-2014
construction programme has scheduled the
construction of forty-two (42) replacement
primary schools. Notably, construction has
already commenced on seven (7) of these
primary schools.
3.2 Secondary Schools
OverthepasttwoyearstheMinistryofEducation
has completed the construction of four (4)
secondary schools with work ongoing on eight
(8) additional schools. For fiscal 2011/2012,
the Ministry formally opened:- 1) Marabella
South Secondary, 2) Aranguez North Secondary
(Figures 7); 3) Couva West Government
Secondary and 4) Five Rivers Secondary.
• Construction will commence on Shiva
Boys’ Hindu and Parvati Girls’ Hindu
Colleges
Additional blocks will be constructed for:-
• Vishnu Boys SDMS Hindu College;
• Charlieville ASJA Boys’;
• Charlieville ASJA Girls’; and
• Sangre Grande SWAHA Hindu College
• Complete or advance construction at
eight (8) secondary schools currently
under construction

Admin Report
2011-201225
Infrastructure in Schools
Figure 5: St. Barbara’s
Spiritual Shouter
Baptist Primary School
Figures 7 & 8: Aranguez
North Secondary School
Figure 6: Arima New
Government Primary
School

Admin Report
2011-2012 26
3.3 School Repairs Programme
TheMinistryhasimplementedacomprehensive
school repair programme for the repair and
maintenance of all schools. Every effort is
made to schedule these repairs during the
August school vacation period in order to
avoid disruption of classes. Over the last two
years the Ministry of Education has repaired
approximately three hundred and fifty (350)
primary and secondary schools. Seventy-
seven (77) primary and secondary schools were
repaired during the July-August 2012 vacation
period.
4. Curriculum Reform
Another major initiative is the reform of the
primaryschoolcurriculum.Thisnewcurriculum
will serve as the blueprint for the development
of the ideal child/citizen we want to produce.
A contractual agreement for the reform of the
curriculum commenced in June 2012 and will
continue to August 2013. The contract was
awarded to the Canadian consortium EduNova.
Meanwhile, CurriculumWriting will commence
in October 2012. Initially seven (7) subject
areas were carded for review; however two more
subject areas were added, namely, Agricultural
Science and Character Education. The hiring of
local curriculum writers for the various subject
areas is expected to be effected early in the next
fiscal year.
• Procurement of the required equipment
for the writing teams and the schools in
which curriculum will be tested
• Creation of a website for the hosting of
curriculum materials
• Recruitment of a firm to print the new
curriculum guides and materials
• Implementation of the new primary
school curriculum by September 2013.
5. Enhanced Literacy and
Numeracy
A solid foundation in literacy and numeracy
opens up a whole new world to students to
take advantage of the full range of curricula
choices in school and beyond. Cognisant of
this importance, the Ministry has given its
commitment to improve our students reading,
mathematics and writing skills. An analysis of
student performance in English/Language Arts
and Mathematics at the national and regional
examinations shows that student performance
in these two subjects is below average. In order
to improve students’ literacy and numeracy
skills a literacy and numeracy plan was
developed for implementation in schools. This
literacy strategy will monitor those students at
risk of falling behind and will provide targeted
interventions. Elements of the Plan include:
• The conduct of a pilot project in selected
schools
• Collection and analysis of data
• Training of numeracy coaches
• Literacyteamstobeformedandteachers
to work in their respective schools.
6. Movement of Secondary
Entrance Assessment (SEA) from
March to May
The Ministry placed a priority on the movement
of the SEA from March to May with the aim of
improving the overall performance of students
at the SEA exit examinations. This is premised
on the need to provide additional time to the
students to help them to be better prepared
for the examination. Through successful
negotiations with the Caribbean Examinations
Council (CXC) and other stakeholders, all
systems were put in place to facilitate the
movement of the examination. As a result of
these efforts, the SEA was held for the first time
on May 10th
, 2012.

Admin Report
2011-201227
A total of seventeen thousand, nine hundred
and sixteen (17,916) children from public and
private primary schools throughout Trinidad
and Tobago wrote the SEA. Eight thousand,
nine hundred and ninety four (8,994) boys and
eight thousand, nine hundred and twenty-
two (8,922) girls were tested on their skills in
Mathematics, Language Arts and Creative
Writing for placement into a secondary school
based on the individual scores achieved.
7. Expansion of the Technical/
Vocational Programme
Through the expansion of the Technical/
Vocational Programme in schools, the Ministry
of Education expects to see an increase in the
number of students pursuing subjects in the
Technical/Vocational area. By extension there
should be an increase in the number of students
requesting certification for the achievement of
full Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ)
Standards and an increase in the variety of
Standards on offer to students at the secondary
school level. This is noted in the Ministry of
Education’s Strategic Plan 2011 – 2015, which
identifies that children at secondary schools
should be exposed to a more varied curriculum
including the exposure to skills-based subjects.
The Caribbean Vocational Qualification is an
award that represents achievement of a set
of competencies which define the core work
practices of an occupational area consistent
with the levels articulated within the regional
frameworks. The student who achieves a full
standard award at Level I is described as a semi-
skilledworkerwhoisabletoperformasignificant
rangeofvariedworkactivitiesinalimitedvariety
of contexts. Since the introduction of the CVQ
programme in 2008, there has been a steady
increase in the number of schools and students
exposed to related skills-based subjects. The
MOE has moved beyond and has since made
it mandatory that all students will undertake
at least one CVQ skill. The implementation of
this initiative should ensure that all students
acquire a specific occupational skill as part of
their general education.
TheCVQProgrammehasbeenfacedwithseveral
challenges. CVQ by its very nature necessitates
a constant in-flow of attention and inputs in
order for it to thrive. However, the long term
benefits that are to be derived far outweigh any
difficulty that may be experienced in the initial
stages. There are some minimum factors that
are crucial to the success of a program of this
nature which have affected the program to date.
These factors are:
• The acceptability and market value of
CVQ Certification;
• Stakeholders “buy-in” and acceptance
of the programme namely:- parents;
TTUTA; school administrators; teachers;
students; tertiary level educational
institutions; other organizations and the
community;
• Adequate qualified teachers to impart
specialized skills;
• Adequate Support Officers most notably
Curriculum Officers to assist with the
monitoring of the program;
• Abilitytoutilizetheattainedcertification
for matriculation purposes at tertiary
level education institutions;
• Certification used as a criterion for
employment by government ministries
and statutory bodies;
• MoE’s support in terms of finance;
staffing and other support;
• The CVQ programme requires timely
and regular funding;
• Supportive administrators with a
technical/vocational understanding or
knowledge;
• Upgrading of physical infrastructure to
accommodate skill-based subjects;

Admin Report
2011-2012 28
• Health and safety awareness and
practices in the whole school;
• Updating of pertinent/relevant data on
a timely basis on all schools;
• Inability to access CVQ results in a
timely manner both by students and
TVET Unit, CPDD, MoE;
• Presentation of CVQ results proves
difficult for principals to interpret.
In spite of these challenges, the following were
achieved:-
• In fiscal 2011 to 2012 the MOE developed
a partnership with the National Training
Agency (NTA) for the training of TVET
teachersatsecondaryschoolstobecome
Assessors and Heads of Departments as
InternalVerifiers. By the end of July 2012,
fifty (50) persons had been trained as
Internal Verifiers and one hundred and
thirty-one (131) teachers as Assessors.
1. Government and Government Assisted
schools were each given a grant of one
hundred thousand dollars ($100,000)
for CVQ expansion.
2. Five hundred (500) Information
Technology and Technical Vocational
Teachers were trained.
3. 2011 CXC results indicated that five
hundred and twenty-four (524) students
received full CVQ awards and nine
thousand and four hundred (9,400)
received Unit Awards in various subject
areas.
4. Sixty-five (65) secondary schools
currently offer CVQ subjects; forty-eight
(48) government schools; seventeen
(17) denominational schools. Sixty nine
(69) will be offering CVQ subjects from
September 2012.
5. Ofthesixty-five(65),nine(9)government
and sixteen (16) government assisted
schools are interested in expanding
their CVQ Programme.
In academic year 2013, the following will be
pursued:-
1. Execution of change management
strategy regarding stakeholders’
perception of the Technical/Vocational
Programme.
2. Recruitment of qualified instructors.
3. Assessment of facilities – Audits of
facilities are scheduled for the period
September to December 2012 for all
secondaryschoolsthatwillbeexpanding
their CVQ options.
4. A special committee will be formed to
come up with a comprehensive proposal
including financial resourcing for CVQ
expansion beyond September, 2012.
5. Roll out of a monitoring and evaluation
framework for the CVQ programme. In
this regard, more Curriculum Officers
will be required to monitor the expanded
programme.
6. Lay the foundation for the registration
of approximately twenty-three (23)
additional schools by 2014, thus
increasing the number of schools
offering CVQs from sixty-nine (69) in
2012 to ninety-one (91) by 2014
7. Increase the number of students
enrolled in the CVQ programme from
one thousand, five hundred and sixty
(1,560) to over three thousand (3,000)
8. Lay the groundwork for an increase in
the number of occupational areas from
twenty-six (26) to thirty-one (31).

Admin Report
2011-201229
8. Teaching and Teacher
Development
Teachers are pivotal to a quality education
system. They however, need to be motivated,
highly qualified and knowledgeable to make a
difference in the lives of students. In seeking to
ensure that teachers are adequately qualified
the MOE embarked on an initiative to revamp
the teaching sector. To facilitate this exercise
the MOE proposed to establish the Teaching
and Teacher Development Division (TTDD)
which replaces the former Teacher Education &
Teacher Performance Project Unit (TETPPU).
The mandate of the TTDD is to produce and
advance teachers who are competent and
adequately equipped to:
1. efficiently and effectively implement
school curriculum;
2. improve student performance;
3. help students to achieve the values
outcomes consistent with the national
vision for our children
A new organizational structure has been
designed. Efforts toward the establishment of
the Division will be pursued in fiscal 2013.
In April 2012, a contract for the conduct of
a Baseline Survey of Teacher Performance,
Parent and Student Attitudes and Achievements
commenced and will conclude in March 2013.
This consultancy is expected to facilitate the
evaluation of the evaluation of the effectiveness
of the intervention strategies that were designed
to enhance the quality of teaching. Through
this consultancy the MOE will be assisted
in the development of profiles for teacher
performance, parent and student attitude and
student achievement.
WithrespecttotheBaselineSurvey,thefollowing
activities were completed
• Orientation sessions were held for all
Principals of the 60 samples schools
• TrainingsessionswereheldforPrincipals
and Vice Principals in the use of the
ipad to conduct the Teacher Monitoring
Protocol (TMP) Survey in Trinidad
• Survey instruments were distributed
to and collected from the 60 sample
schools.
In keeping with its effort to develop a critical
mass of leaders to guide the transformation
initiatives, the Ministry held a leadership
conference for school principals and
administrators. The theme of which was ‘The
Leader in Me”. The objective was to enhance
the skills of key personnel entrusted with the
responsibility of facilitating and supporting the
transformation initiative. Figure 9 is a group
photograph of the MOE Strategic Executive
Team (SET) and conference presenters.
Some of the other major activities
accomplished in fiscal 2012 are as
follows:
• Conducted professional development
training for thirty-five (35) Curriculum
Officers to support teachers in the
delivery of the Health and Family Life
Education (HFLE) curriculum.

Admin Report
2011-2012 30
Figure 9: Ministry’s Executive Team Conference Presenters
• Trained one hundred and fifty (150)
SecondarySchoolTechnologyEducation
and CVQ teachers through workshops
conducted by the Ministry of Energy and
Energy Affairs in its Renewable Energy
and Energy Efficiency programme.
• Conducted workshops on Discipline for
Principals of Secondary and Primary
Schools.
• CompleteddiscussionswithTTUTAwith
respect to a Performance Management
Appraisal Process Manual.
9. Improving Students Overall
Academic Performance
The main indicators used to measure students’
academic performance are the results of the
local and regional examinations administered
to students at the primary and secondary levels.
During the last academic year students at the
primary level from Standards I to IV wrote the
National Tests while the students of Standard
V wrote the Secondary Entrance Assessment
for transition to the secondary level. Students
at the secondary level wrote the NCSE, the
CSEC and CAPE Examinations and the CVQ.

Admin Report
2011-201231
In general, while improvements in students’
performance in some of the examinations have
been achieved, there is still room for further
improvementparticularlyinCSECMathematics
and English. The performance of students at
various levels and in the various examinations
are presented hereunder:-
9.1 National Test - Performance
of Students in Mathematics and
Language Arts
In 2012, eighteen thousand five hundred and
forty-two (18,542) students in Standard 1 and
nineteen thousand nine hundred and forty-
eight (19,948) students in Standard 3 wrote the
National Test in Mathematics and Language
Arts. There has been an overall increase in the
percentage of students attaining or exceeding
standards(Levels3and4)requiredforstandards
1 and 3 in Mathematics and Language Arts in
2012 when compared to the combined period
2008 to 2012. In Mathematics there was about
40% improvement in Standards 1 and 3, while
literacy levels improved by about 50% in
Standards 1 and 3. The findings are as follows:
Mathematics
Standard 1
• In 2012, 68% of the students writing
Mathematics in Standard 1 met or
exceeded the acceptable standards
(levels 3 and 4) compared to 51% in 2011.
• In 2012, there was corresponding
reduction in students not meeting the
acceptable standards.
Standard 3
• 65% of students writing Mathematics
in Standard 3 met or exceeded the
acceptable standards (levels 3 and 4) in
2012 compared to 48% in 2011.
• In 2012, there was also a significant
Language Arts
Standard 1
• 55% of students in Standard 1 writing
Language Arts met or exceeded the
acceptable standards (Levels 3 and 4) in
acceptable standards in Language Arts.
Standard 3
• 67% of students in Standard 3 writing
Language Arts met or exceeded the
acceptable standards (Levels 3 and 4) in
acceptable standard.
• In 2012, 68% of the students writing
Mathematics in Standard 1 met or
exceeded the acceptable standards
(levels 3 and 4) compared to 51% in 2011.
• In 2012, there was corresponding
Standard 3
• 65% of students writing Mathematics
in Standard 3 met or exceeded the
acceptable standards (levels 3 and 4) in

Admin Report
2011-2012 32
9.2 Performance of Primary Schools at the
National Tests – Academic Performance Index
(API)
There has been a significant improvement in
performance of schools in 2012 compared to
the period 2009 to 2012 as measured by their
Academic Performance Index. A school’s score
or placement on the API is designed to be an
indicator of a school’s performance level and
is calculated annually using the percentage
of students at each achievement level for
Mathematics and Language Arts at Standards
1 and 3. Literacy and numeracy are important
areas for overall school effectiveness and future
academic achievement. The composite score
which varies from 0 to 560 is used to place
schools in four categories:-
• EXCELLING (401-560) – Extremely
high proportions of students meeting or
exceeding standards in both classes and
areas of learning.
• MOSTLY EFFECTIVE (241-400) –
Adequatetohighproportionsofstudents
meeting or exceeding standards in both
classes and areas of learning.
• ACADEMIC WATCH (81-240) –
Inadequate numbers of students
meeting or exceeding standards in one
or more classes or areas of learning.
Requires immediate attention to specific
challenges faced by school.
• ACADEMIC EMERGENCY (0–80)
Inadequate numbers of students
meeting or exceeding in both classes
and areas of learning. Requires urgent
and immediate intervention. There has
been an improvement in the schools
based on the academic performance
index during the period 2009 – 2012.
In 2012, there was a significant increase
in the number of schools that were placed
under the Excelling band of the API Category.
Correspondingly, there has been a decline in
the number of schools not meeting the required
standard and categorized as being under
academic watch over the period 2011 – 2012:- A
summary of this information is provided below
• The number of schools placed under
Academic Watch decreased from one
hundred and twenty (120) in 2011 to
twenty-eight (28) in 2012.
• There was an increase in the number
of schools in the excelling band from
fifteen (15) in 2011 to one hundred and
twenty-one (121) in 2012.
• No schools fell into the Academic
Emergency category.
• The results therefore showed a
significant improvement in the
performance of primary schools in
2012 with a large shift in the number of
schools under Academic watch moving
into the Most Effective category and
schools in the mostly effective category
moving into the excelling band.

Admin Report
2011-201233
API Category 2011 2012
No. of
Schools
% No of
Schools
%
Academic Watch 120 22.3 28 5.2
Mostly Effective 394 73.2 384 71.4
Excelling 15 2.8 121 22.5
Total 529 98.3 533 99.1
• Schools excelling improved by 800% from 2011 to 2012.
• Reduction of schools under academic watch by about 80%.
9.3 Secondary Entrance Assessment
(SEA)
The Secondary Entrance Assessment was
administered for the first time on the 10th
May,
2012. This was done to provide students and
teachers with additional time to prepare for the
examination and ultimately result in the overall
improvement of students’ performance. A total
of seventeen thousand eight hundred and sixty-
three (17,863) students (9,967 boys and 8,896
girls) wrote the examinations.
Table 2 highlights the number of students
who wrote the examination and were placed at
secondary schools over the period 2008-2012.
The trends over the five year period indicate
that the number of students writing the SEA
averaged over seventeen thousand (17,000)
and approximately 94% of the students were
placed at the five and seven-year government
and government assisted secondary schools.
From 2008 to 2012 there was a small increase in
the percentage of students placed at secondary
schools. The table also shows that there has
been a steady decline in the number of students
placed at Pre-Vocational Centres.
Table 2: Number and Percentage of Students Placed in Secondary Schools by School Type:
SEA 2008 – 2012
Year Total
Entered
Number /
Percentage
Number Placed by Type of School Total Placed
7 & 5-Year Private Pre-Voc.
Government Schools Centres
2008 17855
No. 16035 580 409 17024
% 94.2 3.4 2.4 95.3
2009 17615
No. 16100 367 497 16964
% 94.9 2.2 2.9 96.3
2010 17268
No. 15962 506 399 16867
% 94.6 3.0 2.4 97.7
2011 17280
No. 16042 483 347 16872
% 95.1 2.9 2.0 97.6
2012 17863
No. 16684 476 332 17492
% 95.3 2.7 1.9 97.9
Source: Division of Educational Research and Evaluation

Admin Report
2011-2012 34
Table 3 provides information on the number
of students who re-wrote the SEA over a five
year period 2008-2012. It is observed that
there has been a steady decline in the number
of students re-writing the SEA. In 2008, there
were eight hundred and thirty-one (831) (4.7%)
repeaters while by 2012 the figures had dropped
significantly to three hundred and seventy-
one (371) (2.1%). Over the five year period the
Ministry sought to make several interventions
to support students and help them to improve
their performance. Among these efforts were
the Performance Enhancement Programme
and the CETT. The outcomes of these measures
are becoming increasingly evident with the
declining number of students re-writing the
SEA.
9.4 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Examination [CSEC] 2012
National Performance at a Glance re: CSEC
• A total of 30,791 candidates were registered for 35 subjects at the 2012 Caribbean
Secondary Education Certificate Examination (CSEC) as compared to 33,318 in 2011
and 33,254 in 2010 (Figure 10).
• 23,942 candidates actually wrote the examination of which 41.2% (9, 866) were males
and 58.8% (14, 076) were females (Figure 11).
• Of the total 110, 795 subject entries, 59.5% (65, 936) obtained Grades 1-III. Of this
amount 13.8% (15, 239) obtained Grade 1, 20.3% (22, 475) obtained Grade II and 25.5%
(28, 221) obtained Grade III (Figure 12).
• When the results are disaggregated by gender, 56.0% of the male students and 62.2%
of the females who wrote the examination achieved Grades I-III.
• 42.8% of the students were successful in five or more subjects while the percentage
of students who obtained five or more subjects with English A and Mathematics
was 42.3%. In 31 of the 35 subjects written, 50% or more of the students obtained a
passing grade - Grades I-III - with 9 of the subjects reflecting a pass rate of 75% or
more. Physical Education and Sport recorded the highest pass rate approximately
92.4%.
• Agricultural Science (Double Award), Mathematics, Visual Arts and Human and
Social Biology (HSB) fell below the 50% benchmark with Agricultural Science being
the lowest. In Agricultural Science approximately 16.0% obtained Grades I-III, in
Visual Arts 40.7%, Mathematics 41%, and HSB 46.4%
Table 3: Number and Percentage of Students
Invited to Repeat SEA: 2008 - 2012
Year No. Wrote No. Placed
No. & % of
Repeaters
2008 17855 17024
831
(4.7%)
2009 17615 16964
651
(3.7%)
2010 17268 16867
401
(2.3%)
2011 17280 16872
408
(2.4%)
2012 17863 17492
371
(2.1%)

Admin Report
2011-201235
A summary of the performance of students
who wrote five or more subjects and attained
five or more subjects including English A and
Mathematics at the CSEC 2012 is presented in
Table 4. Of the eight (8) educational districts,
just two districts (Port-of Spain and Victoria)
showed that 50% of the students gained 5
or more subjects including English A and
Mathematics. In three educational districts,
fewer than 30% of the students gained 5 or
more subjects including Maths and English A.
Overall the national average was 42.2%. These
results provide critical data that will inform
strategies to be developed and implemented
to improve students’ performance in these two
subject areas.
Figure 10: The percentages of Students who registered for CSEC
over the period 2010-2012
Figure 11: The total number of Boys and Girls who wrote CSEC in 2012

Admin Report
2011-2012 36
Figure 12: CSEC 2012: Grades I – III Awarded by Subject Entries
Table 4 CSEC 2012: Number of students attaining five (5) or more subjects including Mathematics and
English A at government and government assisted secondary schools
Educational District Attempted 5 or more
with English A and
Mathematics
Attained 5 or more
with English A and
Mathematics
% attained 5 or more
with English A and
Mathematics
Caroni 1625 659 40.6
North Eastern 527 127 24.1
Port-of-Spain 2129 1105 51.9
Victoria 1613 844 52.3
South Eastern 1190 354 29.7
St George East 2648 1198 45.2
St Patrick 1150 401 34.9
Tobago 574 160 27.9
National 11,456 4,848 42.3

Admin Report
2011-201237
9.5 Caribbean Advanced
Proficiency Examination (CAPE)
Students continued to excel at the CAPE. The
performance of students at this examination
has been consistently high over the period
2008-2012. The results presented in Table 5
shows that over 90% of the students gained
passing grades in Unit I and Unit II over the five
year period, except for the year 2010, when 88%
gained passing grades in Units I and II.
Table 5: CAPE Unit I & Unit II – 2008 – 2012 (Grades I – IV)
Year
Subject Entries
Unit I
Subject Entries
Unit II
No. % Passed No. % Passed
2008 22,084 93.5 1,455 93.0
2009 23,415 91.8 1,564 90.6
2010 26,180 88.0 12,073 88.0
2011 26,294 92.8 12,350 93.3
2012 22,378 94.0 10,617 93.2
9.6 Award of National Scholarships
based on CAPE Results
In2012,theGovernmentawardedthreehundred
and seventy-two (372) National Scholarships
comprising seventy (70) open and three
hundred and two (302) additional scholarships
based on the CAPE 2012. The Government
increased the number of national scholarships
from three hundred and twenty-nine (329) in
2010 and three hundred and fifty-four (354) in
2011 to three hundred and seventy-two (372)
in 2012, based on the rise in the number of
students qualifying for such. The estimated
annual cost for the award of all three hundred
and seventy-two (372) national scholarships
is fifty three million, seven hundred and two
thousand dollars ($53,702,000.00). Scholarships
were awarded in ten (10) subject groups which
included Business, Environmental Science,
Languages, Mathematics, Modern Studies/
Humanities, Natural Sciences, Technical
Studies, Technological Studies, General Studies
and Visual and Performing Arts.
Additionally, two President’s Medals were
awarded to the highest performing students
in the examinations. These students were
Marcus Isaac Belasco of Naparima College,
San Fernando, who was the top performing
student in Mathematics, Natural Sciences and
Environmental Studies, and Brad Bachu of
Presentation College, Chaguanas who was the
top performer in Business, Languages, Modern
Studies, Technical Studies, Technological
Studies,Visual and Performing Arts and General
Studies.

Admin Report
2011-2012 38
10. Testing and Neuro-Diagnostics
of Children
Consistent with its vision for the healthy,
happy and normal development of children,
the Ministry has prioritized the delivery of
specialized services to prepare children for
learning and education development so as to
treat with the neurological and educational
development of students. With this purpose
in mind, the Testing and Neuro-Diagnostics of
Children project was initiated.
The objectives of the Testing and Neuro-
Diagnostics of Children project are to:
• Conduct a pilot exercise with eight (8)
ECCE Centres and eight (8) Primary
schools which will comprise screening,
assessmentandinterventionofchildren.
Table 6 shows the schools selected for
the pilot exercise.
• Provide appropriate education
programmes and interventions for
children assessed with learning needs,
to help them to achieve their diverse
levels of development.
• Develop a plan for the continued
universal screening, testing and
intervention planning for the treatment
of children.
• Design and develop a programme
to address the main factors affecting
the child and his/her development,
Figure 13: Ministry of Education Officials, CXC Officials and Students at Awards Ceremony

Admin Report
2011-201239
including school, parents/guardians/
caregivers, teachers/ principals and
classroom interactions.
Some of the benefits to be derived from this
project include:
• Comprehensive provision of specialized
services to students catering to specific
diagnosed conditions
• Establishment of a specialized services
delivery system to cater to students’
needs
• Individualized plans developed for
children diagnosed with difficulties,
mental challenges, developmental
disorders etc.
To date technical assistance was procured
through the award of a contract for the
development and implementation of
appropriate strategies, plans and structures for
children understanding, to address the needs of
all children, and for the design and delivery of
suitable children services.
The next steps for the project include the
preparation of a project charter and work plan
by the consultant, launching of the project
at national and educational district levels in
January 2013 and site visits to the selected
pilot schools by consultants and project team
members.
Table 6. Pilot Schools re;Testing and Neuro-Diagnostics of Children Project
DISTRICT PRIMARY SCHOOL ECCE CENTRE
St George East El Socorro South Government El Socorro South ECCE Centre
Port of Spain La Puerta Government La Puerta ECCE Centre
North Eastern Sangre Grande Government Sangre Grande ECCE Centre
Caroni Carapichaima Roman Catholic St Sylvan Anglican ECCE Centre
Victoria La Romaine Government La Romaine ECCE Centre
St Patrick Santa Flora Government Santa Flora ECCE Centre
South Eastern St. Mary’s Government St. Mary’s ECCE
Tobago Buccoo Government Buccoo ECCE Centre

Admin Report
2011-2012 40
11. Continuous Assessment
The Continuous Assessment Component (CAC)
of the Secondary Entrance Assessment is part
of a series of transformational initiatives of
the Ministry of Education intended to realize
the five Value Outcomes of education for our
children. In order to equip students with 21st
century skills, it is necessary to change teaching
and learning strategies and assessment
methods. The CAC seeks to address the diverse
backgrounds, aptitudes and learning styles of
our students to ensure that they are given every
opportunity to succeed.
The CAC programme consists of specified
curriculum objectives for achieving skills
and competencies not previously subject
to assessment on a national scale. These
competencies and skills will be gained by
students as they participate in active hands-
on learning supported by detailed feedback
provided through their teachers from practice
assessments. Assessment tasks will see students
engagedinspecificactivitiesandtheapplication
of standard scoring guides.
The assessments will be monitored and
moderated by Ministry officials to ensure
adherence to national standards.
The CAC will be implemented in Standard 5 for
the first time in the academic year 2012-2013.
Students writing the SEA in 2013 will write
the traditional Mathematics and the English
Language Arts papers only. Both subjects
combined will contribute a value of 80% of the
students’ total mark. Students will have the
opportunity to accumulate the other 20% over
the entire year from the CAC in CreativeWriting.
The Ministry officials envisage that students will
be afforded a greater chance to develop their
writing in a relaxed manner and will no longer
be marked on just one piece of writing. During
the last academic year, the activities completed
to ensure that the implementation of the CAC is
on schedule include inter alia:-
• The training of primary school teachers
in a process approach to writing and
scoring to ensure objectivity in marking
of students’ writing
• All teachers were trained to use the same
marking scheme supplied by the MOE
• CXC trained thirty-four (34) Curriculum
Officers, forty-one (41) School
Supervisors and a group of one hundred
and twenty-one (121) persons as CAC
monitors
• Additional administrative support was
provided to school principals with the
placement of over one thousand (1,000)
On-the-Job trainees
• The implementation of a sensitization
programme for Principals and other
stakeholders through the conduct
of conferences, fraternity meetings,
cluster group meetings, face to face
interviews and telephone calls. Also
printed presentations with background
information and implementation plans,
Administrators’ booklets, memoranda
and Question and Answer booklets were
developed for school principals.
• Writing note books (portfolios) were
provided to students at no additional
cost to parents.
• Teachers were provided with copies of
a text which utilizes Caribbean based
themes and methodologies to support
the teaching of writing.
12. Career Guidance and
Development in Secondary
Schools
The Ministry is proposing to provide the
required guidance and instruction to students
that will assist in their career development
and transition into the world of work. For the
academic year 2011/2012, sixty percent (60%)
of secondary schools have participated in the

Admin Report
2011-201241
Career Guidance Programme of the Ministry.
In January 2013, the Ministry in collaboration
with the Ministry of Tertiary Education and
Skills Training will be hosting a series of Career
Fairs across the education districts including
Tobago. This will give students the opportunity
to receive information on career choices as well
as visit the jobs and career coaches that will be
available at the various locations.
13. Social Programmes
13.1 Textbook Loan Programme
The Textbook Loan Programme is administered
by the Ministry’s Textbook Management
Unit. This is just one of the programmes
that seek to create equity of opportunity in
education. The provision of textbooks and
other learning materials to students at all
levels of the system ensures that students are
equipped for the teaching-learning situation.
The Education Facilities Company Limited
(EFCL) was responsible for the procurement
and distribution of all textbooks and learning
materials to ECCE, primary and secondary
schools. In an effort to reduce wastage and
improve the efficiency and effectiveness
of the programme, the Ministry undertook
an inventory audit in May 2012. The audit
was aimed at collecting data on all excess
textbooks or unused textbooks in the primary
and secondary school system with a view to
re-distribute the books to schools in need.
However some of the challenges encountered
were the poor response from schools as well
as the lack of resources to both collect and re-
distribute the books. For fiscal 2011/2012 the
following were provided:
13.1.1 Infants I and Infants II
Textbooksinfive(5)subjectareas-Mathematics,
Language Arts, Reading, Science and Social
Studies, as well as workbooks, in the three (3)
subject areas of Language Arts, Science and
Reading.
13.1.2 Standard 1 to Standard 5
Textbooksinfive(5)subjectareas-Mathematics,
Language Arts, Reading, Science, and Social
Studies, and one (1) dictionary for students
of Standard 1 and one (1) Atlas for students of
Standard 3.
13.1.3 Forms 1, 2 and 3
Each student was provided with one (1)
textbook for each of the seven (7) core areas of
the curriculum namely Mathematics, English,
Spanish, Social Studies, Integrated Science,
Physical Education, and Visual and Performing
Arts (VAPA). In addition, all students entering
Form 1, were provided with an Atlas, a Spanish
dictionary and an English dictionary to be
retained by the students up to examination
level.
13.1.4 Forms 4 and 6
One (1) textbook in each of the subject areas,
pursued by the student.
The textbooks to be used in schools were
selected by the Principals, in conjunction with
the subject teachers.
13.2 Student Support Services
In December 2011 the Ministry of Education
disclosed its intention to build five (5) schools,
one of which will be built in Tobago, to cater for
students with special needs. These schools will
incorporate all aspects of the primary school
curriculum: sports, information technology,
visual and performing arts and traditional
academics,andutilizingstateoftheartfacilities.
The children attending these schools will
benefit from qualified, specialized teachers,
counsellors and guides that will cater to their
every learning need, be it visual, hearing, or
speech impediments, autism, down syndrome,
physical disabilities and/or learning disorders.
Additionally, children and their parents or
guardians will be provided with the material

Admin Report
2011-2012 42
support to cover the costs of their special
education need. For example, they will benefit
from appropriate transportation to and from
school free of charge.
In 2012, the Ministry provided guidance and
support to students, parents and schools as
they prepared for the annual examinations. To
this end the following were provided:-
1) Provision of examination materials (past
papers and study guides)
2) Monitoring and support towards the
completion of school based assessment
(SBAs) by students
3) Provision of guidelines and strategies
for assisting students re: preparation for
examinations, and tools for coping with
examination stress and anxieties.
13.3 School Nutrition Programme
The School Nutrition Programme currently
provides approximately one hundred and
fifty-seven thousand, three hundred and sixty-
one (157,361) breakfast and lunch meals to
students throughout the education system.This
represents an overall increase of two thousand,
three hundred and sixty-one (2,361) meals
each day over the previous financial year. The
following Table 7 reflects the breakdown of
the beneficiaries of school meals by education
levels as at May 31, 2012.
Table 7: Distribution of meals by level and cost as at May 31st
, 2012
Education Level
Breakfast
per day
Lunch
per day
Breakfast and Lunch
per day
Cost per day
Pre- school 456 7,551 8,007 $68,273.78
Primary 43,394 66,965 110,359 $927,048.06
Secondary 13,047 20,998 34,045 $286,828.06
Special School 611 897 1,508 $11,952.53
Technical/Vocational
1,497 1,945 3,442 $28,558.81
Total 59,005 98,356 157,361 $1,322,661.23
Total expenditure for the period October 2011 to May 2012 was $196,513,559 compared to
$170,835,465 spent over the same period in Fiscal 2011.
In an effort to improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the Programme, the National
Schools Dietary Services Limited (NSDSL) has prioritized the following actions that need to be
implemented in fiscal year 2013. These are as follows:
• Definition and prioritization of the NSDSL
• Achieving model School Nutrition Programme status
• Conduct of Research
• Commence negotiation of new meal prices (payment to caterers)

CHAPTER TWO
Goal 2
Transforming the Ministry into a
High Performing Organization

Admin Report
2011-2012 44
Transforming the Ministry into a
High Performing Organization
P
rogress in education depends on effective governance
and adequate national policies. Mindful of this, three (3)
organizational priorities have been developed for the
transformationoftheMinistryintoahighperformingorganization.
These are:
• Organizational Restructuring and Institutional
Strengthening which incorporates development of
Information Communication Technology
• Corporate Communication Strategy
• Human Resource Management and Strengthening

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2011-201245
Upon completion of the restructuring exercise,
the requisite approvals will be sought so that
implementation may commence.
• Conduct of an organizational review of
the HR Management Division which
will facilitate a coordinated alignment
of structure with roles, as well as, for
the assessment of the current HRM
processes, inclusive of its IHRIS
• Review of current and proposed
management structure of the MOE and
making of relevant recommendations
• Identification of the resources required,
including technological, that will ensure
optimum performance of the business
processes.
2.1.1 Information and
Communication Technology
• In addition to initiatives implemented at
theschoollevel,theMinistryisworkingto
provide at the central level a Centralised
WAN OptimisedWireless System that will
facilitate seamless roaming by Students,
Teachers, Administrative Staff and
other Stakeholders throughout all MOE
locations/sites. Computerisation of the
education district offices is ongoing. The
South Eastern District office is currently
being upgraded, while the installation
and commissioning of Local Area
Networks at six (6) Educational District
Offices have been completed. A total
of $3M has been expended to improve
the ICT infrastructure at the Education
District Offices.
In 2013, the Ministry plans to:-
1. Provide at least a 10Mb Network
connection to each MOE Site which
will facilitate the Sharing of Services
amongst all Stakeholders
2.1 Organizational Restructuring
and Institutional Strengthening
The thrust of these transformation initiatives is
towards improving internal practices, processes
and service delivery. Work continued apace
in 2012 to re-engineer the operations of the
Ministry in order to improve the quality and
timeliness of services being delivered. To this
end,thecapacityoftheProgrammeandProjects
Planning and Management Unit (PPPMU)
was further expanded in 2011/2012. This
Unit serves as the main point of management
for all programmes and projects of the MOE.
The major benefits from this approach
include harmonisation of efforts, common
use of projects and change management
methodologies, development and use of core
and support business processes. Additionally,
this approach will allow the Ministry to focus
on its core responsibilities and efficient and
effective delivery of goals (value outcomes),
which leads towards ensuring value for money
spent on the education system.
Central to the success of the Ministry’s
transformation is the creation of a suitable
organisational structure. In this regard,
efforts were pursued to develop the new top
organisational structure which has been
approved by the Senior Executive Team. All
efforts were made to ensure that the structure
was reflective of and would be responsive to
the Ministry’s transformation initiatives and
strategic objectives. To this end, the person
who was identified to lead the respective
functional area, worked with a Team consisting
of persons drawn from relevant areas,
supported by persons providing organisational
structuring or human resource management
expertise, as required. The development of
the organisational structures for the following
Divisions was significantly advanced in 2012:-
• School Supervision and Management
• Corporate Planning
• Teaching and Teacher Development
• Educational Services Delivery

Admin Report
2011-2012 46
2. Provide fence-fence wireless coverage to
all stakeholders within MOE Sites.
3. Provide at least a 1Gb of Filtered Internet
that will be prioritised and Shared
amongst all Sites
4. Upgrade the hardware infrastructure at
each site.
5. Procure computers and peripheral
equipment for the outfitting of the
Ministry’s offices in the new buildings
and the district offices for Caroni, Port-
of-Spain and Environs, North Eastern
and St. Patrick
6. Procure computers and peripheral
equipment for one hundred and
thirty nine (139) schools under the
Computerization of Primary Schools
Programme
7. Provide educational software for four
hundred and seventy-six (476) primary
schools
8. Expand the primary school network
infrastructure to accommodate wireless
network access at three hundred and
forty (340) primary school
9. Provide support for the laptop initiative
through the provision of wireless
and network interface cards, cabling,
connectors, servers and hub
10. Provide hardware and software to
support a web-based School Based
Management System (SBMS) that will
capture data on students, teachers and
schools to inform policy-making
2.2 Human Resource Management
and Strengthening
The services of a consultant are being procured
to provide technical assistance for the conduct
of a consultancy aimed at the transformation
of the Human Resource Management Division
of the Ministry, including full utilization of the
IntegratedHumanResourceInformationSystem
(IHRIS). A revised TOR for this consultancy was
developed and a request for Proposal was sent
to the nine (9) qualified bidders on July 25th
,
2012 by the Central Tenders Board. The closing
date for RFP was August 23rd
, 2012. Proposals
have been evaluated. The selected Consultant
is expected to be contracted and to begin work
shortly.
2.2.1 Staffing
The Ministry of Education collaborated with the
Teaching Service Commission in the filling of
vacancies in promotional positions as follows:-

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2011-201247
Teaching Service
Promotions received from Teaching Service Commission for 2012 are as follows:-
Primary Schools
POSITIONS TOTAL
Principal (Primary) 82
Vice Principal (Primary) 15
Heads of Department (Primary) 63
Senior Teacher (Primary) 3
Dean (Primary) 60
Senior Teacher (Primary) 100
Senior Special Teacher (Primary) 3
Assistant Teacher (Primary) 130
Secondary Schools
POSITIONS TOTAL
Principal (Secondary) 25
Vice Principal (Secondary) 24
Head of Department (Secondary) 6
Dean (Secondary) 60
DuringthelastyeartheMinistryofEducationreceivednoticefromtheTeachingServiceCommission
of the permanent appointments of one hundred and forty-five (145) teachers (Technical/Vocational
Teacher I/II/III/IV – Teacher II/III) .

Admin Report
2011-2012 48
DELINKED STAFF
NEW
APPOINTMENT
PROMOTION
ACTING
APPOINTMENT
Chief Education Officer
1
Director,
Educational Research and
Evaluation
1
Assistant Director,
Education and Evaluation
1
Curriculum Officer 29
Schools Supervisor III
2
Schools Supervisor I
4
Guidance Officer
2
Education Testing Officer
1
In the last year the Ministry of Education recommended to the Teaching Service Commission two
hundred and thirty (230) new recruits for the positions of (Technical/Vocational Teacher I/II/III/
IV – Teacher II/III) .

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2011-201249
Civil Service
Promotions in the Civil Service
In the last year, there were ninety-one (91)
promotions in various categories of staff, one
hundred and thirty-two (132) permanent
appointments in various categories of staff,
while there were one hundred and twenty-four
(124) new recruitments in various categories.
11.3 Corporate Communication
Strategy
The Ministry’s Communication strategy
is crucial to getting the message out to our
stakeholders regarding our efforts to transform
the education system. The feedback from
stakeholders is highly respected since it
helps us to improve our performance. The
Ministry is working towards strengthening its
communications arm as it seeks to improve
its brand and levels of effectiveness. Plans
are in train to hire a Director to head the
Communications Unit. That person will
be responsible for the development of a
comprehensive communication strategy,
among other things. The hiring process
commenced in January 2013.
2.4 Internal Stakeholders
The strength of any organization depends on
its human resources. The Ministry recognizes
the importance of its staff and their input
towards the attainment of its organizational
goals and priorities. During the last year the
Ministry continued to recognize and show
its appreciation for members of staff for their
invaluablecontributions.Onesuchappreciation
was held for retirees of the Ministry at a gala
function held in November 2011.
Sea Award CeremonyWorld Teachers Day
Visit to North Eastern School

Admin Report
2011-2012 50
Figure 14: Celebrations at the Ministry of Education
Some of the other celebratory events that were held in
the last year included a Christmas function in December
2011 and a function for secretarial staff in April 2012.
These lighter occassions were embraced by staff to mix
and mingle and to get to know each other better. Figure
14 captures some of these moments

CHAPTER THREE
Goal 3
Engage Stakeholders in the Change and
Transformation Process

Admin Report
2011-2012 52
Engage Stakeholders in the Change
and Transformation Process
S
uccessful delivery in education relies on many people and
organisations across the community working together
for the benefit of schools. The Ministry and its many
stakeholders and benefactors continue to work progressively to
improvethequalityofeducation. AstheMinistryseekstoadvance
its reform initiatives, the need to engage stakeholders cannot be
overstated. More so, since, several of these initiatives require
input from stakeholders and quite often constant dialogue and
exchange of information. In collaboration with our stakeholders
we were able to achieve the following in 2011/2012.
Principals’ Consultation

Admin Report
2011-201253
3.1 Engaging Stakeholders
In June 2012, the Ministry of Education along
with other Ministries and agencies participated
in a Public Service Career Fair. Information on
training opportunities and employment were
provided to job seekers. The Job Fair allowed
citizens over a period of four days in North and
South Trinidad and Tobago to interact with
government service providers, and learn more
about what different public sector organisations
are doing to make services more accessible in a
timely and cost-effective manner.
The Ministry held a number of meetings with
one of its key stakeholders – TTUTA, to inform
and garner their support for several initiatives
including the introduction of the Continuous
Assessment Component (CAC) of the Secondary
Entrance Assessment.
Meetings were also held with the National
Parent Teacher Association (NPTA), to discuss
further strengthening of their relationship
with the Ministry. The Minister of Education
reiterated his commitment to engage and
recognise the role of parents in the support
and development of children as fundamental
elements of our education system. The NPTA
was informed of the Ministry’s plans to set
standards, specifications and requirements that
are applicable to the recruitment of persons
for teaching positions by the Teaching Service
Commission (TSC). The NPTA executive was
commended for their initiative in dealing with
problems like tardiness by students and in their
overall approach to problem solving. NPTA and
the Ministry of Education also agreed to work
together to improve the quality of the meals
being offered to students in all school cafeterias
as well as, those distributed by the National

Admin Report
2011-2012 54
guardians of children who are being home
schooled were invited to training sessions that
were held from July 23rd
to August 25th
, 2012.
School Dietary Services Ltd. Both parties
reiterated their commitment to join forces
to achieve the holistic development of our
children, as the NPTA offered its support re: the
Ministry’s Continuous Assessment Component
(CAC).
The MOE hosted a Principals’ Leadership
Conference themed ‘The Leader in Me’.
The conference was held at the Centre of
Excellence, Macoya on March 27, 2012 and was
well attended by a cross section of principals
from primary and secondary schools. The
objective was to create leadership personalities
who are equipped to support and implement
the reform initiatives for early childhood care
and education, primary and secondary schools.
The MOE continued its programme of training
of educators for the Continuous Assessment
Component of the SEA. Teachers of standard
IV and V; school administrators and parent/
World Teachers Day
Ministries collaborates for a holistic education
3.2 Community Participation

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2011-201255
The Ministry recognises the importance of
engagingthecommunityinthedeliveryofquality
education. The Ministry has enjoyed a long
standing partnership with the local churches in
the operation of primary and secondary schools
in the country. This relationship was formalised
with the enactment of the Concordat of 1960,
which outlined the shared responsibilities of
both parties in the development of education.
A total of 339 primary schools and 41 secondary
schools are owned and operated by various
denominational boards of management, with
financial support provided by the Ministry. This
partnership with the community continues to
be nurtured with the process of installing Local
School Boards (LSBs) in all government schools.
These Local School Boards comprise members
of the school’s administration, the PTA, student
representatives, teacher representatives and
community members. At present, there are
thirty-four (34 or 25%) government primary
schools and one hundred and thirty-four (134
or 100%) government secondary schools with
operating Local School Boards. In addition, the
Ministry has created a close partnership with
the National Parent - Teachers’ Association
as a vehicle for addressing the issues facing
parents in the education and development of
our children.
Special Olympics

Admin Report
2011-2012 56
Implementation of a Mentorship
Programme in Primary and Secondary
Schools
The MOE has partnered with the Ministry of
National Security to implement the National
Mentorship Programme (NMP). The National
Mentorship Programme is geared toward
positive youth development, and is aimed at
young people between the ages of 9 to 25 years,
from primary to tertiary level, as well as youth in
general who may not have had the opportunity
to be exposed to a stable mentor. Participants
will be paired with role models who will teach
them fundamental life skills, civic responsibility
and positive ways of relating to their peers.
Among the many positives, a long-term benefit
of the project is expected to be a reduction in
youth offences.
At present, there are 190 mentees (150 males
and 40 females) with mentors registered in the
programme and 104 mentees awaiting mentors.
114 mentors have completed the training
programme with 53 mentors matched and 32
mentors tentatively matched to mentees.
3.3 Consultation with ECCE
Providers
In June 2012 a series of consultations was held
withtheaimofengagingprivateEarlyChildhood
Care and Education (ECCE) providers to
partner with the Ministry to achieve Universal
Education (ECCE). The consultations were
scheduled as follows:-
• Group 1 - ECCE Centres in the following
Education districts: Port of Spain, St.
George East and North Eastern
• Group 2 - ECCE Centres in the following
Education Districts: Caroni, South
Eastern, Victoria and St. Patrick
• An ECCE consultation is also being
planned for Tobago.
Participants were presented with four options.
Each option outlined the obligations of both
the MoE and the prospective service providers.
This process will streamline ECCE sector, as thr
Ministry strives to be the first nation to achieve
universal Early Childhood Care and Education
by 2015.

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2011-2012 58
Financial Review
T
he Ministry of Education has an enormous responsibility
to ensure that it is transparent with the accounting of its
budgetary allocation. In the last fiscal year the Ministry
was allocated the sum of four billion, one hundred and forty-
three million, eight hundred and sixty-nine thousand and three
hundred and thirty-eight dollars ($4,143,869,338) to facilitate both
Development (Capital) and Recurrent (operational) expenditure.
Thisallocationrepresented6.99%ofthetotalnationalexpenditureof
$59,215,465,885 (total recurrent and total development programme
expenditure of Trinidad and Tobago) and also a small increase of
1.66% over the total expenditure of $4,076,069,389 provided for
fiscal 2010/2011.
YEAR
TOTAL RECURRENT
EXPENDITURE
$
TOTAL DEVELOPMENT
(CAPITAL) EXPENDITURE
$
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
$
2008 3,337,499,200 840,224,308 4,177,723,508
2009 3,211,995,835 1,066,286,466 4,278,282,301
2010 3,295,548,639 484,583,914 3,780,132,553
2011 3,475,411,204 600,656,185 4,076,067,389
2012 3,603,847,938 540,021,400 4,143,869,338
Table 8 – Ministry of Education’s Financial Allocation (2008 – 2012)
Table 8 shows Recurrent Expenditure, Capital
Expenditure and Total Expenditure to the
Ministry of Education over a five (5) year period
2008 to 2012. Over the five years, recurrent
expenditure has increased from year to year
except for 2008 to 2009 where there was a small
reduction in the recurrent allocation. The
Capital Development Programme expenditure
fluctuates each year that is, it reflects increases
and decreases from year to year.

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2011-201259
The general trend of the total expenditure shows
increases from year to year except in 2010 where
there was a small decrease in total allocation to
the Ministry of Education. For the year under
review (2011 – 2012) there was an increase in
the recurrent expenditure, however there was a
decrease in capital expenditure.
4.1 Recurrent Expenditure
Government’s recurrent expenditure reflects
money spent on the day to day operations of
the Ministry. Recurrent expenditure consists
mainly of:
• Personnel expenditure- wages; salaries;
allowances; settlement of arrears;
overtime; government’s contribution
to national Insurance, group health
insuranceandgrouppensionforGeneral
Administration, Primary Education and
Secondary Education
• Goods and services- travelling and
subsistence; overseas travel facilities;
utilityexpenses;repairsandmaintenance
to vehicles, equipment and buildings;
office materials and supplies; training;
janitorial and maintenance services etc.
for General Administration; Primary and
Secondary Education; District Services
Division; Early Childhood and Care and
Education Unit and Rudranath Capildeo
Learning Resource Centre
• Minor equipment purchases- vehicles;
office equipment; furniture and
furnishings other minor equipment
purchases for General Administration;
Primary Education; District Services
Division; Early Childhood and Care and
Education Unit and Rudranath Capildeo
Learning Resource Centre
• Current transfers and subsidies-
transfers and subsidies to Regional
Bodies; United Nations Organisations;
International Bodies; Educational
Institutions; Households; State
Enterprises
• Current transfers to statutory boards
andsimilarbodies-transferstoStatutory
boards; Trinidad and Tobago National
Commission for UNESCO; National
Library and Information System
For fiscal 2011/2012, the recurrent expenditure
of three billion, six hundred and three million,
eight hundred and forty seven thousand
and nine hundred and thirty eight dollars
($3,603,847,938) represented 86.97% of the
Ministry’s total allocation of four billion, one
hundred and forty three million, eight hundred
and sixty nine thousand and three hundred and
thirty eight dollars ($4,143,869,338).

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2011-2012 60
DESCRIPTION 2011 ACTUAL
EXPENDITURE
$
2012 REVISED
ESTIMATES
$
NET INCREASE/
(DECREASE)
$
Personnel Expenditure 2,058,837,078 2,056,023,000 (2,814,078)
Goods and Services 704,085,691 773,862,100 69,776,409
Minor Equipment Purchases 71,569,163 101,193,200 29,624,037
Current Transfers and
Subsidies
638,568,270 659,896,568 30,828,298
Current Transfers to Statutory
Boards and Similar Bodies
2,351,002 3,373,070 1,022,068
TOTAL 3,475,411,204 3,603,847,938 128,436,734
Table 9- Summary of Recurrent Expenditure for the Ministry of Education (2011 – 2012)
Table 9 illustrates a decrease in personnel
expenditure of two million, eight hundred and
fourteen thousand and seventy eight dollars
($2,814,078) while expenditure on goods and
services; minor equipment purchases; current
transfers and subsidies and current transfers to
statutory boards and similar bodies increased
over the fiscal years 2011 and 2012. The largest
increase of sixty nine million, seven hundred
and seventy six thousand, four hundred and
nine dollars ($69,776,409) was as a result of
higher expenditure for goods and services
goods and services due to more money being
spent on goods and services within the Ministry
of Education.
Recurrent expenditure for fiscal 2011/2012
represents an increase of one hundred and
twenty eight million, four hundred and thirty
six thousand, and seven hundred and thirty
four dollars ($128,436,734) from the allocation
for fiscal 2010/2011 as illustrated in Table 9
above.

Admin Report
2011-201261
SUB-HEAD/ITEM/SUB-ITEM
DESCRIPTION
2012 REVISED ESTIMATES
$
01 PERSONNEL EXPENDITURE
001 General Administration
01 Salaries and Cost of Living Allowance
05 Secondary Education
006 Primary Education
154,000,000
907,000,000
860,000,00
02 GOODS AND SERVICES
001 General Administration
16 Contract Employment
37 Janitorial Services
43 Security Services
120,000,000
106,800,000
204,000,000
03 MINOR EQUIPMENT PURCHASES
001 General Administration 90,844,000
04 CURRENT TRANSFERS AND SUBSIDIES
006 Educational Institutions
011 Transfers to State Enterprises
02 National Schools Dietary Services Limited
330,781,250
248,000,000
05 CURRENT TRANSFERS TO STATUTORY BOARDS
AND SIMILAR BODIES
004 Statutory Boards
13 Trinidad and Tobago National Commission for
UNESCO
3,373,070
Table 10 - Major recurrent expenditure under sub- heads for fiscal 2011/2012
Table 10 revealed that expenditure on salaries
and cost of living allowances for Ministry of
Education’s staff; teachers at primary and
secondary schools and other personnel of the
Ministry accounted for a large proportion of
personnel expenditure. These expenses totalled
onebillionninehundredandtwentyonemillion
dollars ($1,921,000,000). This represents 93.4%
of total personnel expenditure ($2,056,023,000)
for the fiscal 2012.
Goods and services also accounted for a
substantial proportion of the budget and
included payments for utility expenses (rent,
water and sewerage, telephone, electricity) and
repairs and maintenance to buildings which are
very costly and expensive. However, the greatest
contributors to goods and services expenditure
are contract employment and the provision
of janitorial and security services. Large lump
sums are spent on the hiring of employees on

Admin Report
2011-2012 62
a contractual basis and providing cleaners/
janitors and security guards at primary,
secondary, ECCE centres and other Ministry
buildings. The aforementioned expenses
totalled four hundred and thirty million and
eight hundred thousand dollars ($430,800,000)
and represent 55.7% of total expenditure under
total goods and services ($773,862,100).
Minor equipment purchases for general
administration represented the majority of
total expenditure on minor equipment. In
fiscal 2011/2012 the Ministry of Education
boughtvehicles,officeequipment,furnitureand
furnishings and other minor equipment for
general administration valued at ninety million
eight hundred and forty four thousand dollars
($90,844,000). This represents 89.8% of total
expenditure on minor equipment purchases
($101,193,200).
Current transfers/subsidies to Educational
Institutions and the National School Dietary
Services Limited amounted to five hundred and
seventy eight million, seven hundred and eighty
one thousand and two hundred and fifty dollars
($578,781,250). This represented 87.70% of total
current transfers and subsidies ($659,896,568).
These transfers included grants to assisted
primary schools, assisted secondary schools,
private primary schools, private secondary
schools and government secondary schools;
textbooks provided through the textbook rental
programme and breakfast and lunch to students
etc.
Infiscal2011/2012,currenttransferstostatutory
boards and similar bodies represented 0.1 % of
total recurrent expenditure ($3,603,847,938). A
single transfer was made to the Trinidad and
Tobago National Commission for UNESCO.
This transfer was valued at three million, three
hundred and seventy three thousand and
seventy dollars ($3,373,070).
On an annual basis large sums of money
are allocated for the provision of janitorial/
maintenance services, security services,
the textbook loan programme, the school
nutrition progamme and grants to primary and
secondary schools. The government’s sustained
effort to expend on these services indicates its
commitment to ensuring that students have
all the necessary resources to support their
learning.
4.2 Development Programme
Expenditure
Total capital expenditure comes from the
Consolidated and Infrastructure Development
Funds. It consists of expenditure on Social
Infrastructure and Multi-Sectoral and Other
services falling under Head 26 (Development
Programme) and Head 701 (Infrastructure
Development). This expenditure reflects the
acquisition or enhancement of fixed or long
term assets.
FallingundertheheadingofSocialInfrastructure
are improvement/refurbishment/extensions;
construction; procurement of furniture and
equipment for ECCE centres, primary schools,
secondary schools and schools catering for
students with special needs. Multi-sectoral
and other services cater for payments made
for administrative services and renovations/
construction/ relocation/outfitting and
refurbishment of public buildings.
For fiscal 2011/2012, the total programme
expenditure of five hundred and forty million,
twenty one thousand and four hundred dollars
($540,021,400) represented 13.03% of the
Ministry’s total allocation of four billion, one
hundred and forty three million, eight hundred
and sixty nine thousand and three hundred and
thirty eight dollars ($4,143,869,338).

Admin Report
2011-201263
SUB-HEAD/ITEM/SUB-ITEM
DESCRIPTION
2012 REVISED ESTIMATES
$
09 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
(HEAD 26)
004 Social Infrastructure
04 Education
005 Multi-Sectoral and Other Services
06 General Public Services
10,450,000
31,132,400
26 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (HEAD 701)
004 Social Infrastructure
04 Education
Pre-Primary
Primary
Secondary
Special Education
005 Multi-Sectoral and Other Services
06 General Public Services
7,000,000
200,570,000
285,869,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
TOTAL CAPITAL EXPENDITURE 540,021,400
Table 11- Summary of capital expenditure for fiscal 2011/2012
As seen in Table 11, the largest contributor
to total development programme expenditure
was social infrastructure under Head 701,
valued at four hundred and ninety six million,
four hundred and thirty nine thousand dollars
capital expenditure ($540,021,400). During
the fiscal year 2011/2012, the Ministry of
Education spent large proportions of money
on improvements/refurbishments /extensions
to ECCE centres, primary schools, secondary
schools and special schools. Payments were
made for construction of Penal Rock SDMS;
Monkey Town Government Primary School;
St. Barbara’s Spiritual Shouter Baptist School;
Enterprise Government Primary School; Biche
High School; Siparia East Secondary; School
for Special Education at Point Fortin and many
more.
Under Head 26, multi-sectoral and other
services were the second largest contributor
to total development expenditure valued at
thirty one million one hundred and thirty
two thousand and four hundred dollars
development expenditure ($540,021,400).
During fiscal 2011/2012 the Ministry allocated
money towards the Seamless Education
System Project; Professional Development;
Institutional Strengthening; relocation of
Ministry of Education and renovation at head
office.
The Ministry remains committed to enhancing
the quality of education and ensuring that
each child has access to education through its
school construction programme. The Ministry
recognizes the need to cater to students with

Admin Report
2011-2012 64
special education needs through the development of schools which provide specialised services for
students with moderate and severe educational needs.
Looking ahead, the Ministry received a budgetary allocation of over approximately (5) billion dollars
for fiscal 2012/2013. Table 12 shows the breakdown of the allocation for recurrent expenditure and
the Development Programme.
Recurrent Expenditure Development Programme Total Allocation
4,208,124,536 711,200,000 4,919,324,536
Table 12: Budgetary Allocation for fiscal 2012/2013

Admin Report
2011-2012 66
The Way Forward
Looking back, the Ministry accomplished
several of its targets that were outlined in
its Strategic Plan 2011 – 2015 and sixteen
priority areas, amid all the challenges.
However, there are areas that require much
moreworkifwearetomeetourtargets.Aswe
look ahead to 2013 the Ministry will sharpen
its focus on the delivery of services around
its priority areas. We intend to improve our
stakeholder relationships and seek out new
means of engagement in order to lift the
levels of achievements of all learners. We
are also improving our ICT infrastructure
at all levels of the system. Further, more
attention will be paid to our operating
model at central and district levels to ensure
its flexibility and responsiveness in support
of our efforts to improve outcomes.
Transformation exercises are never short
of challenges. One current challenge is the
restructuring of some of the key Divisions
I
t is evident that the Ministry is on an ambitious drive to
reform and re-engineer the education system. The signs of
the paradigm shift that is taking place in education to meet
theeverchangingdemandsandcontemporaryneedsofsociety
are undeniable. From early childhood education to secondary
education, fundamental changes are taking place to ensure
all learners benefit from high quality education. As indicated
earlier, these changes include new school buildings, new
primary school curriculum, teacher training and development
and preparation of children for learning and development.
and work processes within the Ministry
and at the same time continue with day to
day operations including the fulfilment of
statutory requirements. Also the issue of
staffing is another concern. Within the last
year the Ministry was on a drive to recruit
staff for some key Divisions. This process
is at different stages of completion for the
various positions and on completion should
result in Divisions having a full complement
of staff.
Amid all the challenges we are optimistic
that our goals for the education system and
by extension those for our students will be
realized. Given the astute leadership of the
Minister, the SET and the skills and energy
of the staff at the Ministry of Education
there is no reason why we cannot achieve
what we have planned.

Admin Report
2011-2012 68
Produced by
Ministry of Education
Corporate Communications Division
May 2013

Draft Admin Report 2011/2012

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Draft Admin Report 2011/2012