Students should not be locked out of schools.

That is the directive Secretary of Education, Youth Affairs and Sport Huey Cadette has given to Tobago’s schools, delivered via a recent memorandum to principals.

At Wednesday’s post Executive Council media briefing at the Calder Hall Administrative Complex, Cadette said the memo was sent “to our principals advising them that this practice of locking out students due to any infraction, whether tardiness or uniform [related], must cease with immediate effect.”

Parents, the Secretary stressed, must be advised when students are suspended.

“It is the responsibility of the school to ensure that when the children get to the school compound that their safety is paramount,” Cadette stated.

The Division hosted its 2015 Teachers Conference today (September 17, 2015), which Cadette said provided “an opportunity for motivating our senior administrators and management within our school system,” in addition to discussing the management of schools on the island.

The conference, themed “Rekindling the Flame, Transforming Commitment into Results,” was held at the Tobago Nutrition Cooperative Ballroom in Canaan, and was attended by principals, vice principals from primary and secondary schools, as well as senior primary school teachers. Sessions included Leading for Literacy, Foundation for Numeracy, Leading Change in Education, and the Role of the School-Based Administrator.

The conference was attended by representatives from the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA), the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA), and religious boards.

The Secretary also revealed that a team from the Education Division met with the Teaching Service Commission in July to address some longstanding issues.

He said eight deans and eight heads of department will receive their appointments from the Commission in October.

Cadette said: “This has been a longstanding issue in terms of the appointments of heads of departments and deans who assist with the secondary schools with the management of the school life, the management of the subject areas, and the management of the curriculum.”

Among the schools impacted by those appointments are Bishops High School, Scarborough Secondary, Speyside High, Goodwood High, Signal Hill Secondary, and Pentecostal Light and Life Foundation High School.