TTUTA supports extra week of rest despite no consultation

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA), Martin Lum Kin, says that although teachers were not consulted on the Government’s decision to extend the July/August vacation, the move is being welcomed by the teaching fraternity.

During Thursday’s post-Cabinet media briefing, Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath announced that schools will now reopen on September 8, effectively extending the vacation period by one week.

Dowlath said the adjustment was made to ensure a more balanced distribution of weeks across the school terms.

Lum Kin, who confirmed to Guardian Media yesterday that TTUTA was not consulted prior to the decision, acknowledged the potential benefits of the additional rest period.

“It is usually the longest of the three terms, and by the end, our educators and students are burnt out. We are emphatically in agreement with the Honourable Minister on that point,” he said.

Lum Kin added that he is eagerly awaiting the Ministry of Education’s official memorandum, which is expected to outline the revised term dates for the 2025/2026 academic year.

“It will detail the terms for the academic year 2025/2026, which would address some of the issues. We will then know when school will close, reopen, and the number of weeks in each of the three vacation periods.”

The TTUTA president also expressed hope that the extended break will allow for the completion of critical school repairs currently underway at 278 institutions, as announced by the Education Minister.

“We look forward to the extra week being utilised to complete as much of the infrastructural work as possible before the start of the new term. We hope it will be at an advanced stage or nearly completed.”

While Lum Kin applauded the ministry’s decision to hire 100 contract assistant instructors to address long-standing vacancies in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) across 95 secondary schools, he also offered a note of caution.

“We are quite pleased that the ministry is seeking to temporarily fill the vacancies. What we want to say, though, is that this should be a short-term initiative and contracts should not be extended unless there are specific circumstances preventing the filling of these established vacancies. We understand the ministry’s reasons for engaging contract labour, but in the long term, these posts should be filled by persons hired on a permanent basis.”

Meanwhile, President of the National Parent Teachers Association (NPTA), Walter Stewart, said that while the additional vacation period may help address mental fatigue, there are other issues the Ministry of Education should consider.

“It is therefore important that the ministry pays attention to supplying all our schools with the necessary tools and resources needed to ensure that teaching can take place in an atmosphere conducive to less stress and less depression.”

Stewart also questioned how the Education Ministry intends to account for the 39 weeks of instruction required in the academic year. On Thursday, Dowlath stated that no teaching time would be lost.