EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

6.1 Trade Centres

Trade Centres are vocational training institutions which offer full-time courses. These programmes are non-residential, and cater for persons of either sex between the ages of 16 and 21.

At Trade Centres, Carpentry, Joinery, Masonry, Plumbing, Electrical Installation, Welding and Cabinet Making are taught. Other activities include recreational and cultural, leadership skills, Arithmetic, English Language and Draughting.

Training is for a period of one year, and a Certificate of Acquired Competency is awarded at the end of the course of study.

An outline of the various courses offered is advertised in the daily newspapers. Applicants are required to complete an application form which can be obtained from any Trade Centre, Community Development Centre or the Ministry of Education, National Training Board, Alexandra Street, St Clair.

Completed application forms should be forwarded to:

Following the completion of the application form, the applicant will be invited for a written test (Arithmetic, English Language and General Paper) and an oral interview.

The Youth Placement Service assists graduates in obtaining jobs. Some financial assistance is given to graduates who prefer to set up their own business.

Vocational training is offered at the following Trade Centres:

6.2 National Youth Development Apprenticeship Centres

The Apprenticeship Centres which were previously called Youth Camps are used for vocational training. There are five centres located throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Apart from vocational training, the centres give young people an opportunity to develop every facet of their personalities, encouraging participation in agricultural, recreational and cultural activities.

The Centres accept persons between the ages 16 and 21 for training in:

Courses are usually advertised in the daily newspapers. Information pertaining to the commencement of courses can be obtained from the Youth Officer in your district. Courses cover a period of two years. Commencement of courses is due to start in 1995.

Application forms are available from the Technical /Vocational Education and Training Division sections of the Ministry of Education, Alexandra Street, St Clair, the National Training Board, 12, Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain or at the Youth Office in your district.

Applicants should apply for only one course. The completed application form should be taken to the Regional Offices in your district where applicable.

After submitting the application form, each applicant must take a written test at a venue to be identified by the District Youth Officer. Each applicant satisfying the requirements is invited for an interview at the district office. They must take along with them their birth certificate, two recent recommendations and some form of identification.

Applicants who applied previously but were not accepted can re-apply the next time the courses are advertised.

Following are the addresses of the Centres:

Training is for a period of two years; is residential and a Certificate of required competency is awarded. Those who have satisfied the requirements will be allowed to sit the National Craft Diploma examination.

Youth Officers

Young people interested in training offered at the Trade and Apprenticeship centres, can contact the Technical Vocation Education and Training Division of the Ministry of Education, Alexandra Street, St Clair, Port-of-Spain, or the centres for further information.

6.3 How does YTEPP Work?

The Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP) Ltd. provides training to young people between the ages of 15 and 25 who are out of school and unemployed. YTEPP offers the following programmes:

Subjects offered to trainees are as follows:

Centre Based Training

YTEPP training starts in August and lasts approximately nine months. Courses are usually conducted at Junior Secondary and Senior Comprehensive Schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Registration takes place in early July each year and forms are available from YTEPP centres (Junior Secondary and Senior Comprehensive Schools). After submission of the application forms, applicants will be invited for interviews by the Centre Co-ordinators.

Community Based Training

In rural areas where there are no schools, YTEPP training can be carried out at homes, churches or community centres. Call the YTEPP offices and have a Community Based Co-ordinator visit your area to determine the type of Programme you need. Once there are 15 or more youths interested in the programme and a venue identified, training can start.

For further information please contact the YTEPP Office, Guardian Building, St Vincent Street, Port 0f Spain. Tel.: 625-1005.

6.4 University of the West Indies

University Entry Requirements

The University of the West Indies normally has two sets of requirements: the general university requirements, termed matriculation requirements, and faculty requirements, whether for entry to a degree programme such as Agriculture, Engineering or Medicine, or for entry to specific courses in a programme as in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.

At the St. Augustine Campus, at least two GCE Advanced level subjects are necessary for entry to three-year degree programmes, with the exception of the degree programme in Agriculture which also has a four - year programme with an entry requirement of five relevant CXC/GCE 'O' level subjects.

Age Limit

Only students who will have attained the age of 17 years on or before 31st December of the year of admission, will normally be eligible for admission. However, applicants below this age who satisfy the normal 'A' level matriculation requirements are also eligible.

How to apply

At the University of the West Indies, the academic year at present commences mid-September and ends in June the following year. All persons seeking admission to the University must submit an application on the prescribed forms between November and January 31. Persons seeking entry to programmes at the Mona Campus in Jamaica must apply there before January 8.

This means that if you wish to enter the University in September, 1994 you should apply between November, 1993 and January 31, 1994, even if you are sitting GCE 'A' level examinations in June, 1994. Do not wait until the end of August when you have passed your "A" levels and then try to apply for entry in September, 1994.

The University invites applicants through weekly notices in the local newspapers. In Trinidad and Tobago, application forms are available from:

How are students selected by the University?

Because of the overall number of applications, which in some faculties exceeds the number of places available, a selective process is used. The selective criteria may vary depending on the extent of the competition, but places are normally given to the applicants with the best academic qualifications.

All applicants wishing to enter the University are therefore urged to try to get as high a grade as possible in CXC and GCE, particularly at Advanced Level.

When will you receive a reply from the University?

Persons who apply by January 31 should normally receive a decision on their application by the end of April. If you are sitting Advanced Level examinations to qualify for entry, it is important to note that some faculties do not take final decisions on such applications until after the GCE results are released, but your application must still be submitted by the January 31 deadline date.

Sometimes the Faculty to which you have applied may offer you a place on condition that you obtain specific grades in your Advanced Level subjects. This condition reflects competition for places within the faculty.

If you marginally fail to achieve the specified grades, there is still a chance that the University will reconsider your application and offer you a place if any is still available.

English Language Proficiency Test

Prior to registration an English Language Proficiency Test must be written by students entering the Faculty of Agriculture, Arts and General Studies, Law, Medical Science and Natural Sciences. The purpose of this test is to place students in the appropriate English Language course.

6.5 How do I gain entry into a Technical School

1. San Fernando Technical Institute

Applications for entry to the Institute are invited from males or females 15 years and over, who have attended a recognised secondary school for at least five years.

Applications from youths not yet qualified may be accepted on the understanding that:

An outline of various courses offered by the Institute is advertised in the daily newspapers. Full time classes are from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and part-time from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00/9:00 p.m.

Applicants must apply for only one course and only one application should be submitted.

2. John Donaldson Technical Institute

Applications are invited every year during the period January to March for the academic year which starts in September.

This Institute offers a wide range of Craft and Technical programmes in both day and evening school.

Admission to a Craft course is based on an entrance examination in English Language and Arithmetic, while a Technician's course requires relevant GCE/CXC passes.

Persons holding direct entry qualifications and those who pass the Institute's entrance examination will be asked to attend an interview with the admission committee.

Copies of the prospectus are sent to all Government schools and also published in newspapers.

6.6 How to gain entry to the Hotel School

The completed form with attached photocopies of supporting documents should be mailed to the Registrar, Trinidad and Tobago Hotel School, P.O. Bag 41, Carenage.

Applicants will be notified by mail two weeks in advance of taking an Aptitude Test.

A personal interview will be held as a means of further assessing students for selection. Candidates will be informed of the date. Students selected for admission to a programme will be notified approximately four weeks before the commencement of classes.

Students are required to submit the following reports before or upon admission:

There are two different entry dates at the Hotel School - January and September.

The January Programme

The closing date for application is October of the previous year. Courses offered at this programme are -

The entry requirements for these two courses are evidence of 10 years schooling or a school leaving certificate.

The September Programme

The closing date for applications is April. Courses are offered in the following areas:

All classes are full time.

6.7 How do I transfer a Child from one Primary School to another?

First, contact the principal of the school to which you would like the child to be transferred. Once the child has been accepted at this school, you notify the principal of the school that the child is attending at present, informing him/her that you plan to transfer your child. Then, you are required to complete a transfer certificate, which will be signed by the principal, and must be taken to the school where the child has been accepted.

Please note that this transfer arrangement is made between strictly principal and principal and does not involve the Ministry of Education.

6.8 How do I transfer a Child from one Secondary School to another?

Firstly you contact the principal of the school you would like your child to attend. These schools only accept transfer students if space is available. If the child is accepted at the school of choice, the next step is to apply to the Ministry of Education which is the competent authority to authorise the transfer.

However, if even the principal of the school of your choice has accepted the child, there is no guarantee that the Ministry of Education will allow the transfer. When the Ministry officials have come to a decision they will inform the principal of the school of your choice who will then inform you of the decision taken.

Please note that the Ministry of Education also allows transfers from Junior Secondary Schools to five-year Secondary Schools provided the child is tested and has produced results satisfactory to both the principal of the school and Ministry of Education.

6.9 How to obtain a Certified Statement for GCE, CXC, Pitman, Primary School Leaving and the Royal Society of Arts Examination

Application forms for Certified Statements are obtainable at the -

The application form must be completed and submitted to the Ministry of Education before a certified statement could be issued.

Stamps must be submitted on receipt of the statement. A 25 cents stamp for a Certified Statement on the Primary School Leaving Certificate examination and a 50 cents stamp for a statement on GCE, CXC, Pitman or any other examination.

6.10 How to Register with the Adult Education Classes

A person desirable of attending Adult Education Classes administered by the Ministry of Education, should first visit the Adult Education Centre in their district to ascertain whether he or she could be accommodated in the appropriate class(es).

Provided the person could be admitted, he or she should approach the Treasury or Warden Office and pay a nominal fee to become registered. On payment of the fee, the person is given a receipt.

Following the submission of the receipt to the supervisor of the relevant Adult Education Centre as evidence of having paid the fee, the person is admitted to the class(es).

For further information please contact the Ministry of Education, Alexandra Street, St. Clair, Trinidad, West Indies.

Courtesy the

Ministry of Public Administration and Information