Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has issued a blunt warning to students as the new academic year begins, telling them that failing to take their education seriously could leave them facing a lifetime of hardship. Photo: I.A.N News

In a message posted to her Facebook page on Sunday, one day before schools reopen, Persad-Bissessar urged students to attend classes, respect their teachers and take responsibility for their academic progress.

But her message went beyond encouragement, as she delivered a stark assessment of what she believes awaits those who reject education and discipline.

“Life is tough without an education,” the Prime Minister warned. “It will grind you down until you end up just surviving day to day and not actually living a satisfying wholesome life.”

She told students that while some may choose to bully others, disrupt classrooms or refuse to study, those decisions could carry consequences well beyond their school years.

“This bad behaviour will result in failure and you will doom yourself to a difficult life ahead full of low-paying jobs, struggles, and misery,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar also took aim at what she described as assurances that academic failure is not necessarily a major setback.

“Many persons will give you glib reassurances that if you fail at school your life is not over but trust me they are not telling their own children the same thing,” she said.

The Prime Minister argued that education remains one of the most important tools available to young people to improve their prospects and navigate life's challenges.

“There will be always be difficult days in life but a good education gives you many options to navigate difficulty and overcome challenges to have a wonderful life,” she said.

‘Send them straight home’

Persad-Bissessar also had a strong message for teachers and principals, calling for a tougher approach to students who repeatedly misbehave and parents who refuse to address their children's conduct.

She urged educators to adopt a “zero-tolerance policy to disrespectful and misbehaved students and parents.”

“Don’t stress out yourselves trying to help persons who don’t want to be helped,” she said.

The Prime Minister went further, telling school authorities that when students refuse to behave and parents ignore concerns, they should “send them straight home and let them and their parents battle it out in their house.”

She also made it clear that teachers should not be expected to tolerate abuse or threats.

“You are there to teach, mentor, and protect those students willing to learn, you are not there to be abused, intimidated, and harassed by any student or parent,” Persad-Bissessar said.

She urged teachers and principals to contact the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service if they are threatened or abused.

‘Do not dump your parental responsibilities’

The Prime Minister also placed responsibility squarely on parents to ensure their children are properly disciplined and prepared for school.

“Do not dump your parental responsibilities onto teachers, that is your job, you made your children, it is not the teachers’ or anyone else’s responsibility to mind them,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar urged parents to monitor their children's behaviour and academic progress, listen to their concerns and maintain communication with teachers.

She ended with perhaps her starkest warning to parents, linking a failure to instil discipline at home with the possibility of future encounters with the criminal justice system.

“Do your part now with your children so that in years to come when they become adults, you won’t have to be at the courthouse in your old age trying to secure bail to get them released from incarceration,” she said.

The Prime Minister also extended best wishes to students, teachers, principals and parents for the new academic year, while urging students to make decisions that will shape a better future for themselves and the country.