Matters pertaining to education transformation and gun violence were among the areas discussed during a courtesy call between Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and non-resident Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See, The Most Reverend Santiago de Wit Guzmán.
During the meeting at Government Headquarters recently, Prime Minister Mottley informed The Most Reverend de Wit Guzmán, who is also Archbishop of Gabala, and his team, about Government’s proposed education transformation.
She stressed that all students must have equal opportunities to utilise their talents under a more balanced system.
“The last major reform in education in this country was premised on the 1940s English legislation, which said … ‘let us focus on the top 30 to 40 per cent but let us make sure that the next 60 to 70 per cent are manageable’, which was the colonial approach.
“Regrettably, we have not broken the chains and the mould of that, so that we see, hear, and create opportunities for each and every child. We have started, but we’re not where we want to be. Therefore, we need to make a greater resolve in order to ensure that each child can have the best possible future according to their talents,” Ms. Mottley stated.
She also expressed her deep concern about gun violence and abuse across the region, pointing out that it was necessary to find ways to encourage people to solve conflict, adding “it has to be a whole of nation approach, whole-of-region approach, and a whole-of-world approach to tackling this issue”.
Meanwhile, the non-resident Apostolic Nuncio proffered the view that valuing the lives of individuals and strengthening the family unit could be used as tools to address violence.
“I think families are very important and strengthening this institution should be a real goal…. Love, trust, confidence, and understanding that we can rely on one another and trust each other and the fact that we can build something together is very, very powerful. We can also further educate the younger generation about the importance of the family unit,” he said. The two officials also discussed the ongoing crisis in Haiti.
The Most Reverend de Wit Guzmán is based in Trinidad.