Health & Education
From The Report: Trinidad & Tobago 2020
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Investment in the construction of several new health care facilities across the country and the upgrade of ageing infrastructure demonstrates that the public sector is on the right path. However, challenges persist as out-of-pocket spending remains high, partly due to elevated medicine costs. Moreover, greater funds will have to be invested in the training of medical professionals if locals are to fill staffing gaps. Public investment in the education system remains the highest of any sector, while student enrolment across universities and vocational institutions has increased significantly over the last decade. However, slow economic diversification and the oversaturation of certain university programmes have led to a mismatch between graduate skills and the availability of opportunities in the labour market. Focused government funding could encourage the uptake of subjects and the development of skills required in the contemporary labour market. This chapter contains an interview with Gillian Paul, President, College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Brick by brick: Public infrastructure investment campaign to address primary needs of the sector, paving the way for future strategies
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The health sector of Trinidad and Tobago is founded on the principle of a free, universal coverage funded by the government and taxpayers. The FY 2019/20 budget assigned health care the third-highest allocation after education and national security. In addition to providing health care to a population of over 1.3m, much of this budget will go towards the construction of new hospitals and clinics. While the ageing population and chronic diseases becoming more prevalent pose challenges to health care…

Interview

Bridging the gap: Gillian Paul, President, College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago, on creating an enabling environment for graduates in the digital age
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Interview:Gillian Paul What efforts must be made in tertiary education to match programmes with labour demand? GILLIAN PAUL: Programme offerings and real labour market demand must be better aligned. Reports continue to show an overproduction of graduates relative to demand, both in terms of the degrees and diplomas offered, and of the level of training and certification. Institutions are currently turning out large numbers of degree-level graduates in the social sciences and liberal arts;…

Overview

Sustainability challenge: Rapid expansion creates a need for diversification at higher levels
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The education system in Trinidad and Tobago offers universal free education for all citizens, ensuring that over 95% of the population are enrolled in primary education. With the adult literacy rate at around 99% in 2010, T&T was already far above the 2018 world average of 86%. In addition, education received the highest budget allocation for FY 2019/20, at TT$7.6bn ($1.1bn), more than TT$1.1bn ($221.6m) ahead of national security and health, the second- and third-highest areas of government…