Financing for equity in primary and secondary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to schools
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
In the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry of Education (MoE) centrally finances and manages public pre-primary, primary, lower secondary and secondary education, according to the Education Act (1966, ratified in 2025). However, the Minister may appoint a Board of Management to recommend educational policies, budget allocations for schools, and the distribution of funds within the school budget of assisted schools.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
No financial mechanism transferring funds from the central government to local governments with equity considerations has been identified. While the MoE centrally finances education in Trinidad and Tobago, the Tobago House of Assembly annually receives a proportion of the national budget, from which money is allocated to the education sector in Tobago. Part of this allocation is used for, inter alia, improvement and extension works on primary schools, school feeding programme.
2. Education resources to schools
The Education Act (1966, ratified in 2025) establishes that the Ministry of Education (MoE) is responsible for managing schools, including their establishment, maintenance, and support. The MoE oversees teacher training through professional development and recruitment standards and provides school materials and infrastructure such as textbooks, curriculum, and facilities. Additionally, the MoE partially finances assisted schools by granting funds to their Boards of Management. There are government-funded schools which are schools entirely owned and operated by the government and government-assisted schools, overseen by a board of education, usually a religious board, which receive funding from the government.
Special education, managed by the Special Education Unit established in 1981, supports children with disabilities including autism, specific learning disabilities, visual and hearing impairments, and multiple disabilities. Its aim is to provide suitable interventions that help these students achieve learning goals in both specialized and inclusive settings. The Ministry of Education runs 12 public special schools, fully funding them, and also allocates annual per-student funding to private special schools.
3. Education resources to students and families
Laptop Distribution
The laptop distribution programme, introduced in 2010 and ending in 2015, provided all new students entering secondary school (Form one) with a laptop. During the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 to 2022), laptops were distributed to students in need identified through a means test. The laptop distribution programme was reestablished in 2025 with all Form one secondary school students receiving a laptop regardless of the financial status of their family.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
The General Assistance Grants cover a variety of urgent and temporary needs such as clothing, dietary support, domestic help, pharmaceutical assistance, rental help, prosthetics, school supplies replacement, and assistance for victims of disasters or emergencies. This programme is designed for citizens and legal residents facing crises and includes specific sub-grants like the Education Grant for secondary students and the School Supplies and Book Grant for children affected by disasters.
The Public Assistance Grant is a distinct, ongoing monthly financial aid programme for low-income individuals, and families, including single parents and caregivers of children with disabilities or those in difficult situations such as orphaned or abandoned children. It supports maintaining stability and schooling for vulnerable children. It is run as a separate initiative by the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services.
The Disaster Relief Programme provides material and psychological support exclusively for households affected by natural disasters, offering household replacements and school supplies. This is also operated separately under the Ministry of Social Development and requires proof of loss and official reports to qualify.
Introduced in 2019, the Disability Assistance Grant focuses specifically on monthly financial aid for families of children under 18 with severe, permanent disabilities, following medical certification. This is a specialised grant distinct from the General Assistance Grants umbrella and if the child is recipient of another grant exceeding $1500 per month, they are not eligible for the disability assistance grant.
In 2005, the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services launched the Targeted Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (TCCTP) to support impoverished families with monthly food-card cash transfers for up to 24 months. Renamed the Food Support Programme in 2019, it provides short-term food aid through electronic Food Support Cards, offering $510 to households of 1–3 people, $650 for 4–5, and $800 for six or more. Eligibility is means-tested, requiring ID, income proof, and utility bills. The programme includes a mandatory Developmental component connecting beneficiaries to education and skills training, aiming to break poverty cycles and enhance household stability, education, and long-term quality of life.
5. School meal programmes
School Nutrition Programme (SNP)
The Ministry of Education (MoE) established the School Nutrition Programme (SNP) as the primary initiative to provide meals to over 800 schools nationwide. Launched in 1950, the programme’s inter-sectoral coordination was initially overseen by the National Schools Dietary Services Evaluation Committee (NSDSEC). Currently, the SNP is implemented by the National Schools Dietary Services Limited (NSDSL), a state-owned enterprise managed by the national government. NSDSL collaborates with the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, and the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO), while reporting to both the Ministry of Finance and the MoE.
The SNP aims to provide daily breakfast and lunch to pre-primary, primary, and secondary students, supplying on average between one-quarter and one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of nutrients. Daily, the programme delivers approximately 54 breakfasts and 79 lunches per school. In 2002, the MoE formally incorporated NSDSL into the SNP, and by the 2022-2023 school year, the programme employed at least six nutritionists to support its implementation.
This profile was reviewed by Bephyer Parey, Research Fellow, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
