Guest Columns

The following is the final instalment in Dr Claudius Fergus’ three part series on African textured hair: a historical, cultural and legislative perspective: Unlike what obtains in many Caribbean Commonwealth states, Trinidad and Tobago’s Education Act does not define responsibilities of students or speak to the obligations of principals toward …

One does not have to be a legal expert to recognise that hair-shaming, such as reported in the St Stephen’s College incident, is a violation of our Constitution—‘the supreme law of Trinidad and Tobago’ (Article 2). I want to submit further that the incident is also a clear violation of …

The ghoulish picture of our police commissioner over the dead body of a murder suspect (Express, 28 December) reminded me of Nietzsche’s aphorism: ‘He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster… if thou gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze into …

The scale of natural justice weighs negatively against the Ministry of Education for allowing 2019 to end without unambiguously prohibiting discrimination against natural African hair texture and basic African hairstyles, and mandating school administrators to root out the practice whenever it rears its ugly head. Ultimately, it might necessitate amending …

‘Discipline guarantees success’ has been a tried-and-true maxim, but no matter how disciplined you are, if your operating context is chaotic, you are unlikely to succeed. At all levels, Trinidad and Tobago exhibits a lack of discipline, which is facilitated by the absence of enforcement of the rules. From captain …

“At issue is the widespread, pernicious and fundamentally racist belief that the hair and hairstyles of African people are not suitable for formal settings and are intrinsically messy, unkempt, unhygienic and even disruptive. The insidious nature of this deeply ingrained idea encapsulated in the popular phrase ‘bad hair’ guarantees that …

On the eve of the 2007 general elections, Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar quoted the famous Marley lyrics ‘no woman, no cry’ as she dug in against the treatment from the men in her party. When she later won the internal elections and appointed Jack Warner as Chief Whip, Roodal Moonilal and …

Much of the discussion about the introduction of the polymer $100 bill conflates the evil of ‘dark’ money with persons who have been shut out of the banking system. The persons who deal in ‘dark’ money have self-selected to operate outside the system; but there are those who are unable …

The attention on the 40 scholarships won by Lakshmi Girls’ Hindu School and on them winning the president’s medal overlooked the mind-boggling consistent performance of the St Augustine Girls’ High School that copped 28 open scholarships, which is 13 more than their closest rivals. The Greater St Augustine area, defined …

Stuck between a growing social revolution here in Lebanon and our annual floods brought about by rampant  political corruption—which gave rise to the aforementioned unrest—I had little time or interest in watching the recently concluded Miss Universe Beauty Pageant. My interest piqued of course when I saw on BBC World …

I am very grateful to both Earl Best and Cliff Bertrand for their extensive comments on my earlier piece. Because their input raises important points, and because I am indeed a passionate democrat (as Earl described me), it is befitting that some response be provided. It is also important to …

In the 2012 budget, the government adopted a lofty goal: ‘Education for all’. It was built on the Draft Quality Standards for Education (2005) and inter alia sought to ensure all students achieved recognised and measurable learning outcomes so that they could contribute to the country’s economic sustainability and be …