The Catholic Church teaches that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. As the US Bishops state: “We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.”
To ensure that our institutions are on the road to excellence, we must ensure that their work is underpinned by a clear vision of the kind of society that we wish to become. We know that TT is currently “implementing initiatives to give effect to the Vision 2030 Goals and the SDGs.” Vision 2030 comprises 5 Development Themes, the first of which is: “Putting People First: Nurturing our greatest asset.”
If we are to put people first, we need to examine legislation, policies, practices and procedures that may stand as obstacles to the achievement of our laudable goals. We are signatories to many international conventions. But what efforts are we making to abide by their principles? For example, Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, inter alia: “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory…Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality…”
While TT can boast of having free education, the reality is that not everyone can access such education. Just ask the parents of children who live in areas where the cost of transport to enable their children to attend school is exorbitant. In areas where potholes cause damage to taxi drivers’ vehicles, increased fares prevent some parents from sending their children to school due to lack of money.
There are other reasons why education remains a forlorn dream for many, including our outdated education system which continues to fail to promote integral human development, and which really needs to be reformed. Our President, a few editorials and reputable persons such as Dr David Bratt, have highlighted this need, yet we continue with the same old, same old.
I recall one of the young men involved in then Fr Jason Gordon’s Pride in Gonzales Project telling me that during his years at school, education “passed him by” as he had a hearing impairment, which was not diagnosed. He was too ashamed to tell anyone that he could not hear clearly. He never learned to read fluently. Eventually, he dropped out of school and when he was offered an opportunity to join a gang, he did. He said he then felt that he was “somebody.” Remember the late Shadow’s calypso: “Everybody is somebody; nobody is nobody.” Who can deny that we treat many of our people as though they are “nobody”?
Reading opens the door to the world. How many of our children and adults can read fluently? Did you read CNN’s report by Alisha Ebrahimji (22 Feb)? She reported that “A handful of students, teachers, advocacy groups and parents sued the State of California two years ago, alleging the state deprived students from disadvantaged communities the opportunity to learn basic reading and writing skills. On Thursday 20 Feb, a judge approved a settlement that says the state has to pay $53 million to improve literacy across schools statewide…
“Mark Rosenbaum, directing attorney at Public Counsel, which filed the suit, said…: ‘The right to read is not just the cornerstone of education, it is the cornerstone of our democracy. Without it, we continue to build a future on the illusion that the haves compete on the same terms with the have nots.’
“The state acknowledged that there was a need to implement a state literacy plan…However, the plaintiffs said the state had not ‘taken sufficient steps’ to make sure that literacy education was available to all children. ‘As a result, the state continues to allow children from disadvantaged communities to attend schools that are unable to provide them an opportunity to obtain basic literacy,’ the complaint said. The Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner told CNN…’There is talent in every seat in every classroom…But there is not always opportunity. We’ve work to do, and the kids are counting on us.'”
Our children are counting on us too. Being literate enhances our dignity/human rights. Let us work with renewed effort to promote literacy in TT.
First Published in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian Newspapers
