THE EDITOR:
ONE of the zones of lawlessness in Trinidad and Tobago will always be our schools because principals flagrantly breach rules and regulations.

Right now several primary school principals are allowing unauthorised text books into their schools. Some of these books have not been evaluated by the Textbook Evaluation Committee while others are additional books to one given by the Ministry of Education for the subject area.

Principals have been told that parents are not to be asked to purchase any other book for the subject area since the ministry has already done that but of course principals dishonestly disguise it by saying that it is the parents who have made the decision to buy the books.

The fact is there is a massive underground million-dollar trade in these unauthorised books with kickbacks to teachers and principals.

I believe that a charge of misbehaviour in public office should be brought against these principals.

But alas! The Ministry of Education through its innocuous and ineffective school supervisors can never do anything right.

As a matter of fact the ministry of education should give serious consideration to recalling many of these under-performing officers they call school supervisors.

THE EDITOR:
AFTER reading reports of the last United National Congress (UNC) meeting I wondered if sensible people do listen to them.

Who do they really speak to? They are always totally irrelevant.

Imagine a jet ride by the Prime Minister is a hot political topic in Trinidad despite the fact that three Government MPs on different occasions denied any plans to purchase the aircraft.

Does Jack mentioning of the 162 countries he visited and “meeting more Kings, Presidents and Prime Ministers” make him a person of integrity and worthy of trust, enough to make him eligible to hold a portfolio in a Government?

Is that absolutely necessary or relevant to the politics of this country?

So because he visited 162 countries and met more Kings, Presidents etc., than Manning and doesn’t have a private jet, then Manning should not have one (So what if the Government buys a jet?

I’m sure if he loses, the next PM won’t sell it).

It’s as if he is more important than a Prime Minister.

I can just imagine the hearty laughter the supporters had when he mentioned that Manning will use the jet to go Tobago to buy bene-balls and crab and dimpling!

So you see how stupid they continue to sound?

Panday as chief of the UNC has to sound reassuring, so he has to paint a picture for his supporters of a party that is gaining support because the “phone is ringing off the hook by people calling to renew membership.”

But one can sense the concerns behind their “brave faces” judging by their utterances, especially since the launching of Dookeran’s party.

Dookeran now appears to be “Public Enemy No 1”, the attacks have intensified.

That is why I have to ask: Who do they speak to, who is impressed?

None of the opposition parties can be compared to the People’s National Movement (PNM) even in Opposition.

They all sound the same, the main topic is always Manning and not anything of relevance that will convince the people why they should be put in office.

Their main objective is removing the PNM, and then they fight.

No stability, no maturity and no professionalism.

The PNM is not a perfect organisation, but they are still the best choice despite the negatives portrayed in the media.

THE EDITOR:
CITIZENS for a Better Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) supports those groups and individuals who have come out against the use of the book, The Humming Bird Tree in our nation’s classes.

Such a textbook should never have entered our classrooms because it contains graphic foul language.

The panel of teachers who selected The Humming Bird Tree to be used by minors in the classrooms, have clearly embarrassed the Education Ministry and have irritated and angered the majority of parents in the country.

Even though children may be exposed to obscene language in taxis, maxis and other places outside the classroom, they must be taught to eliminate foul language from their vocabulary.

We are well aware that many adults including parents and teachers use obscene language regularly but that does not mean that our young children should follow their lead.

I know of principals and teachers who use foul language in their schools and other public places but are quick to condemn and punish their students for the same sin.

In spite of the support of The Humming Bird Tree as a school textbook by some educators, we should not introduce such materials in our schools when other options are available.

The Humming Bird Tree was introduced in the classroom like a thief in the night.

In future, textbooks contained graphic foul language must first be made public so that we can decide if the majority of us approve of such materials in the nation’s classroom.

Regardless of the book’s support by a few, the Ministry of Education is right to put pressure on principals and teachers to ban this book.

There are people out there who believe that the book is the work of prose and literature and should be followed in the classrooms.

Many of these same people use “cusswords” in conversation, which is not only breaking the law but also setting a poor example for others.

I wonder if they believe that their constant “cussing” is also the work of prose.

THE EDITOR:
I HEARD the Prime Minister on the Parliament Channel say that the People’s National Movement (PNM’s) intention with building a new Parliament is meant to inspire feelings of a modern society and give representatives the kind of environment and access they need to do the people’s work properly.

Our democracy and system of Government is built along the lines of the, democratic, modern, developed United Kingdom.

Does the Prime Minister know that every symbol of democracy, including the House of Parliament, in the United Kingdom is housed in or on buildings that go back up to hundreds of years?

His explanation is weak at best!

Will a new Parliament building change the fact that people are starving within earshot of immense wealth?

Will a new Parliament change the fact that protesters are being beaten even though their right to protest is protected by the Constitution? Will a new Parliament, or any new building for that matter, change the fact that people simply cannot eat because they cannot buy food?

If we cannot feel that our democracy and standard of living are safe under the PNM, how is it that a new building would be able to inspire anything except visions of a leader gone mad with control and money?