Nkosi868

Well it was bound to happen. I read an article from a Trinidadian and Tobagonian newspaper that pushed me so far over the edge that I had to blog about it. The article in question is "Ministry to text SEA results" by Sean Douglas for the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.

Where Should I Start?

The Ministry of Education in Trinidad and Tobago has decided to text message the SEA results to the students who took the exam.

How is it going to be implemented?

- A private company will be collecting data from parents from June 1 to June 23

- The ministry would also explain the process in advertisements beforehand.

- A text message will be sent at 2PM on June 25th

Cost

- $70,000 for the private company providing the system
- $30,000 for enhancements to the ministry(What does that mean?)

Total: $100,000

What About The Traditional Paper Slips?

According to the Ministry, those slips are the official form of communication of results and they will be continued as normal. Students will also be able to check their results online and maco the results of others.

Keep The Children In Mind

The best part of all this is the careful thought the Ministry has put into the welfare of the children. To protect them, they're only releasing the text messages to students while they're in school, so they could receive "psychological support" from their teachers. Now I'm no Einstein, but doesn't that nullify the entire point of these text messages? If these students are in class with their teachers, who are in custody of the official paper slips, why are they signing up and waiting for a text message?

Why Are They Doing This In The First Place?

Education Minister Esther Le Gendre justified the text message initiative by saying her ministry has a policy to recognise the value of mobile devices in teaching and learning.

Could someone please forward these links to the minister for me please? Thanks.

Cellphone Porn for Schoolboys

T&T Students Post Sex and Violence to YouTube

The education minister also said that the SEA texts would be of great help to busy parents at work. Maybe so, but they certainly won't be a big help for the children who did poorly. Whatever happened to an old-fashion phone call?

And Since This Is A Blog On Advertising...

After the text message is sent out, what is the government going to do with all the data they obtained? Can you say "privacy issues" and "spam"? What else can they do with it?

I said the same thing about President Obama's 3AM text message to announce his running mate.

My Take On This Madness

Trinis like too much blasted show off ting! Do we really need to spend $100,000 to send a text message that has absolutely no purpose whatsoever? Allyuh gon mad oui. And like everything else the government does, this is going to cost more after it's completed. I'll put my head on a block for that. They said that they're going to advertise it, yet there are no advertising costs in the budget they provided the media with. And why didn't Mr. Douglas from Newsday ask about that. His article was dry. I demand some real investigative journalism. Most Trinis don't care anyway. All they want to know is that they're getting a text message from the government on June 25th.

Well That's all I have to say on this. I'm totally fed up with Trinis. From the Laventille mess last week to this nonsense. Seems like every time I read T&T news I have to shake my head in disgust. You know what ticks me off a little more? Knowing that a Trini is reading this and is upset that I'm "disrespecting the country now that I live abroad". Oh how I love hearing that.

Until next time...peace.

Newsday Article: Ministry to text SEA results

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