**[THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO\
]{.underline}**

Trinidad and Tobago operates on a 7 - 5 - 2 - 3 system:

Primary School - 7 years

Secondary School - 5 years

Advanced Secondary School - 2 years

Undergraduate Degree - 3 years

## [Historical Context]{.underline} 

Trinidad and Tobago are the southernmost islands in the Caribbean chain,
only 10 km (7 miles) from the Venezuelan coast and geologically part of
the South American sub-continent. Both islands are about 33 km (21
miles) apart, occupying a total land area of 5,128 sq. km (1980 sq.
miles). The population of the islands reaches just above 1.3 million
tracing roots back to Africa (40%), India (40%), Europe, the
Mediterranean, the Middle East and China. The country also has a number
of denominations, the major ones being Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam and
to a lesser extent a growing number of protestant, fundamentalist and
new age religions and sects.

Historically, Trinidad and Tobago were colonized, and Trinidad was
brought under Spanish rule, French influence and later British rule
until the country received independence in 1962; Tobago's history is
somewhat different. Prior to independence, Trinidad and Tobago's
education largely adopted the colonial British culture, customs and
practices at all levels including having a theocratic system where Roman
Catholicism and the Church of England heavily invested in the education
of society.

**[Curriculum, Qualifications and Examinations]{.underline}**

**Primary and Secondary Education**

Primary and secondary school curricula, for the most part, make use of
the national curriculum. The national curriculum fundamentally deals
with building academic capabilities among students in an effort to
prepare them for the workplace. Subjects fall into broad categories from
primary toward secondary education. These include compulsory subjects
such as Mathematics, English Language, Foreign Language, Science and
Social Studies whereas at the specialist level other subjects such as
the Literatures, Business Studies, Arts, and Technical Craft are
offered.

Students within the primary school sector normally exit this stage at
age 10-11 with a primary school leaving certificate. Primary school
graduates prepare to write a State-administered examination, the
Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA). The SEA curriculum addresses
literacy, numeracy, reasoning and comprehension skills, as well as
science and social studies knowledge at an elementary level.

Secondary schools cover education for students between 11-18 years. At
some schools, continuous assessment (covering general knowledge and
skill areas) within the lower school level is required before
articulation to the upper secondary school level. It wasn't until 1972,
when Caribbean governments, through the establishment of the Caribbean
Community or CARICOM, that a policy for introduction of a regional
curriculum to enable secondary school graduation was articulated and
effected. This gave birth to the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).
Since then, secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago have offered the
Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations
administered by CXC, alongside the traditional British General
Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level examinations.

Regardless of the route taken towards graduation, all students by age 16
should have completed the CSEC (general or basic proficiency) or less
commonly the GCE Ordinary Level curriculum to be awarded with a
secondary school graduation certificate. In general terms, graduation
with 5 or more CSEC passes with grades I-III or GCE Ordinary Levels with
grades A-C is considered a full or successfully completed secondary
school certificate. A very recent policy development in Trinidad and
Tobago has led to the establishment of the National Secondary
Examination Certificate (NSEC) in which the Ministry of Education grants
national certification to secondary school students for completing
secondary assessment after three years (Level 1) and after a further two
years (Level II). Thus, there are two level awards after Forms 3 and 5
respectively.

For yet another group, and beyond this stage, college bound students
traditionally pursue the GCE Advanced Level curriculum, graduating at
age 18. Successful completion of the program is achieved having obtained
a minimum of two (2) A' level passes including the General Paper
subject. Although grades A-E are regarded as passes at A' level, only
grades A-C attract college admission credits into baccalaureate programs
at North American colleges and universities. Alternatively, the CAPE
curriculum has been introduced in Trinidad and Tobago and this offers a
modular approach to further and higher education having both 1-Unit and
2-Unit courses. In the CAPE scheme, there are six 1-Unit foundation or
core courses and a number of 2-Unit specialized subjects that are
optional. The foundation courses cover units in Caribbean Studies,
Communication Studies, Statistical Analysis, Information Technology,
Functional Spanish and Functional French. Specialized courses range from
vocational to academic courses in several disciplines.

Two Private schools, the International School of Port of Spain and Maple
Leaf International School, based on the American and Canadian systems
respectively, opened for enrollment in 1994. They provide a college
preparatory, holistic education for children in grades pre-kindergarten
through Grade 12.

**Tertiary/Higher Education**

Except for Trinidad and Tobago, other Caribbean countries may award the
CXC Associate degree at community colleges and upper secondary schools.
Post-secondary and tertiary-level programs have been traditionally
offered through The University of the West Indies (UWI) and its
predecessor -- the University College of the West Indies -- for some 40
years, set aside from other technical and vocational institutions in the
country. Some decades later only specific programs were available by
correspondence studies or through study-abroad initiatives by the
Government and the UWI. Within the past decade the face of
post-secondary and tertiary education has changed rapidly with an
increasing number of local institutions offering both local and overseas
programs that cater to technical, vocational and academic education and
training. The state-owned University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) was
established in 2004. Its main role is to meet the needs of this very
industrialized country for a highly trained and qualified engineering
and technology manpower base.

Today, both state-owned and private tertiary institutions either award
their own qualifications or work with international providers as
external studies centers for programs offered within the United States
of America, Canada, the United Kingdom and more recently India. All
local institutions are required to be registered to be legitimate and
legal tertiary educational entities in Trinidad and Tobago. They receive
this status only after evaluation by the Ministry of Science, Technology
and Tertiary Education and the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and
Tobago.

Tertiary and higher education institutions offer varied programs at the
certificate, diploma, associate degree, baccalaureate degree,
postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma, master's degree and
doctoral degree levels. Such programs are offered in the technical,
vocational and academic areas in several disciplines: arts and
humanities, social and developmental studies, education and human
development, business, technology and engineering, and health and allied
health fields.

-   [GATE]{.underline} - All citizens of Trinidad and Tobago pursuing
    tertiary education in approved local and regional institutions can
    benefit from the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE)
    program, established in September 2004 and revised in January 2006.
    Undergraduate students receive free tuition and postgraduate
    students can access grants to cover up to a maximum of 50% of their
    tuition fees. The UWI campuses in Jamaica and Barbados are also GATE
    approved.

-   [HELP]{.underline} - Students of Trinidad and Tobago can access soft
    loans to fund any aspect of their tertiary education through the
    Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education's Higher
    Education Loan Programme (HELP). HELP was launched on June 22, 2006
    and is approved for tertiary-level studies. Regional institutions
    such as UWI in Jamaica and Barbados, and St. George's University in
    Grenada (medicine) are also included in this program.

### [Institutions, Quality and Delivery]{.underline}

Educational institutions in Trinidad and Tobago are either government or
privately owned and managed. The Ministry of Education indirectly
manages public primary and secondary schools whereas denominational and
government assisted schools are generally managed by special school
boards. Government is presently designing and developing regional
education boards to manage primary and secondary institutions within
specific geographic districts. Quite unlike primary and secondary
education, tertiary level institutions are governed by special governing
boards and councils who may or may not receive State funds for
delivering their programs to the public. Some public institutions are
self-sustaining entities whereas others receive per capita grant funding
for running their institutions. Private institutions, however, provide
programs in association with international providers for the general
public, for enterprises or specific industrial sectors. In some
circumstances, only a few public tertiary level institutions provide
degree level education in concert with industrial partners.

Quality in education is currently a major concern in Trinidad and Tobago
given globalization influences and international developments. CARICOM
has spearheaded a regional initiative to guide member countries to
establish country-specific or territorial quality management schemes for
education and training. In Trinidad and Tobago, this has recently taken
place with the advent of the need to establish a National Qualifications
Framework (NQF) and quality assurance activities both by institutions
and external accreditation authorities. The NQF will outline a seamless
system for education and training and ensure that all qualifications
awarded locally, and those foreign awards which employers encounter from
their workforce, are properly managed from pre-elementary to tertiary
education. The Ministry of Education has established a Quality Assurance
Unit for assessment of the quality if instruction at all secondary
schools in Trinidad and Tobago. Likewise, the government has established
the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago as a vanguard
organization for tertiary/higher education quality.

[Testing]{.underline}: The SAT is offered six times a year at five
locations and the paper-based GRE twice. The computer-based GMAT is
administered on an appointment basis. Although we wish students to
demonstrate their commitment and competitiveness, we advocate the use of
testing only as warranted, and discourage institutions from requiring
the TOEFL of students as English is the native language on Trinidad and
Tobago.

[Students in the United States]{.underline}: Approximately 2,500
students from Trinidad and Tobago enter universities and colleges in the
U.S. annually. 75% undergraduate / 20% graduate / 5% other. The most
popular majors at the undergraduate level are: Business Administration,
Engineering, Hard Sciences, Computer Science and Health Professions. The
top states receiving these students are: Florida, Georgia, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.

**[EducationUSA]{.underline}**

Two EducationUSA advisers are employed by the Public Affairs Section of
the United States Embassy and serve over 3,000 students annually in a
wide range of programs designed to strengthen students' applications and
readiness for U.S. higher education.

We host a very popular annual college fair. College Fair 2007 hosted 51
U.S. universities and colleges and 6 local institutions. Besides the
primary goal of interacting with the students, their parents and
teachers on a personal level, these events provide the ideal opportunity
for articulation agreements to be initiated between the U.S. and local
institutions. Registration information is available on our website
[http://]{.underline}[trinidad.usembassy.gov](http://www.trinidad.usembassy.gov/)[.]{.underline}

We are eager to work with you to make it possible for more students of
Trinidad and Tobago to enroll in your institution. Please contact us for
assistance:

Information Resource Center Mrs. Radhika Gobin

Public Affairs Section E-mail: [gobinr@state.gov]{.underline}

United States Embassy Mrs. Joy Sandza

7-9 Marli Street E-mail: <sandzajl@state.gov>

Port of Spain Tel: (868) 822-5576/5563

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO Fax: (868) 822-5574

[http://]{.underline}[trinidad.usembassy.gov](http://www.trinidad.usembassy.gov/)

Please send one copy of your catalog or view book to:

U.S. Embassy Port of Spain

Public Affairs Section / IRC

Department of State

3410 Port of Spain Place

Washington, D.C. 20521-3410

We welcome visits, recruiting or otherwise, and can assist in promoting
your events.

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**[Useful websites]{.underline}:**

[www.gov.tt](http://www.gov.tt/) /
[www.nalis.gov.tt](http://www.nalis.gov.tt/) /
[www.tdc.co.tt](http://www.tdc.co.tt/) /
[www.tntisland.com](http://www.tntisland.com/) /
[www.gotrinidadandtobago.com](http://www.gotrinidadandtobago.com/) /
[www.stte.gov.tt](http://www.stte.gov.tt/) /
[www.actt.org.tt](http://www.actt.org.tt/) /
[www.uwi.tt](http://www.uwi.tt/) /
[www.utt.edu.tt](http://www.utt.edu.tt/) /
[www.costaatt.edu.tt](http://www.costaatt.edu.tt/) /
[www.cxc.org](http://www.cxc.org/) /

*May 2008*