Young Venezuelan refugees get a fresh start in Trinidad’s schools

When 11-year-old Venezuelan refugee Astrid Saavedra walked into her fourth-grade classroom in Trinidad and Tobago for her first day of school in September, she was eager to begin lessons in her favourite subject, mathematics. But the prospect of teaching fellow students about her homeland Venezuela was equally exciting.

Astrid is one of the first refugee and migrant children from Venezuela to be allowed to enter the Trinidadian national public education system, following a change in the country’s immigration rules.

Caption: Thousands of Venezuelans have fled their country

Photo: © IOM/Gema Cortés

She was part of the first cohort of 60 children to meet the admission criteria, which included possession of a certified, translated birth certificate and immunization record, and be assigned a school, marking an important milestone in fulfilling Trinidad and Tobago’s commitment to fully meeting its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international UN human rights treaty.

“These young people, should they stay in Trinidad and Tobago, would be adequately prepared to enter the workforce of this country, filling gaps in the labour market and contributing to innovation and sustainability,” said senior UN migration agency (IOM) official, Desery Jordan-Whiskey. 

“It’s also an opportunity for these children, who are mostly Spanish speaking, to contribute just as much as they would gain, by helping their peers learn a second language.”

An investment in the future

The changes in legislation that allowed children like Astrid to go to school came about in July 2023, during a meeting of UN officials and politicians, at which Trinidad’s Minister of Foreign Affairs officially announced the Government’s decision.

UN agencies agree that the right to receive an education is an example of the way human rights overlaps with sustainable development.

“Advocating for access to education is key to bridging the gap between immediate humanitarian needs and long-term development goals,” said Amanda Solano, head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Trinidad and Tobago. “By providing education to refugee and migrant children, we’re not just meeting their immediate needs, we’re investing in their future and the future of Trinidad and Tobago.”

Photo: © UNHCR Trinidad and Tobago

Over 2,000 refugee and migrant children remain excluded from the school system. The UN has made efforts to provide them with alternative learning opportunities, or to place them in private schools but has expressed a preference for wider admission to the state school system.

A committee of UN agencies and partners, the Education Working Group (EWG), is working with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to better understand the training and logistical support that would be required to accommodate larger numbers of refugee and migrant children into local schools.

The hope is that many more students like Astrid will be able to walk into the nation’s classrooms to start the 2025-2026 academic year.

UN support for education in Trinidad & Tobago

• The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UNHCR work with partners to offer informal Child-Friendly Spaces, where children can access learning while they wait for places in the national school system.
• The Education Working Group (EWG) is assisting with initial English language proficiency testing, facilitated by the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) in collaboration with the University of the West Indies (UWI).
• EWG members have coordinated efforts to reduce economic strain and enable students’ focus on learning and thriving. UNHCR provided school supplies and backpacks, PADF offered access to textbooks and other school supplies, and UNICEF disbursed grants to support any unmet needs, including uniforms, textbooks, and transportation.
• Through the Heroes Development Program, PADF and its partner the Heroes Foundation also provide complementary life skills development and alternative education support for children and youth who are unable to access formal schools in Trinidad and Tobago.