Mrs
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
was sworn in as Minister
of Education on December 22, 2000. Mrs Persad-Bissessar is assigned the responsibility of Pre-School,
Primary and Secondary Schools as well as Technical and Vocational Education
and Training, Special Education and Teacher Education. Additionally, she is responsible for Educational Broadcasting, Educational
Counselling and Guidance, Moral, Ethical and Spiritual values and Physical
Education in schools.
Also
under the purview of this Minister are Educational Facilities Management of
Pre-schools, Primary and Secondary Schools, Examinations, Registration of
Private Education Institutions, School Boards and the School Nutrition Programme.
The
National Commission for UNESCO also falls under the jurisdiction of Mrs Persad-Bissessar.
Mrs.
Persad-Bissessar was formally sworn in as Attorney General on November 9,
1995. She was subsequently appointed
as Minister of Legal Affairs on February 2, 1996 and held this post up to
October 1999. She was appointed Minister
of Education in 1999 and has retained this portfolio following the 2000 elections.
Mrs.
Persad-Bissessar was born on April 4, 1952 in Siparia and was the first female
Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago when she was sworn in as Attorney
General in November 1995. She also
acted Prime Minister in September 2000, thus being the first female to act
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Mrs.
Persad-Bissessar attended Norwood Technical College and later University of
the West Indies where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts (General) (1974) and
a Diploma in Education (1976). She
was a lecturer in Language and Linguistics at UWI's St Augustine and Mona
campuses and a teacher at Lakshmi Girls' Hindu College. She was also a social worker with the Church
of England Children's Society in London.
In
1985, Mrs Persad-Bissessar opted to pursue a career in law when she entered
the Hugh Wooding Law School where she was named top student at her graduation
two years later. She worked in the
chambers of Mr Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj before practicing on her own from 1988.
Mrs
Persad-Bissessar entered politics in 1987 when she became an alderman for
the National Alliance for Reconstruction in the St Patrick County Council. She was appointed as an Opposition Senator
in November 1994 and in November 1995 and 2000 was elected Parliamentary Representative
for Siparia.
Mrs
Persad-Bissessar is married to Dr Gregory Bissessar and is the mother of one
son. Her recreational interests are
reading and walking. She also has
an interest in social work and equal opportunities for women being a former
secretary and vice chairperson of the National Organisation for Women.