Prime Min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar is prais­ing teach­ers as “the torch­bear­ers of na­tion-build­ing,” reaf­firm­ing her Gov­ern­ment’s com­mit­ment to sup­port­ing and em­pow­er­ing ed­u­ca­tors across Trinidad and To­ba­go.

In her mes­sage mark­ing World Teach­ers’ Day 2025, which took place yes­ter­day, the Prime Min­is­ter joined the glob­al com­mu­ni­ty in cel­e­brat­ing teach­ers’ “wis­dom, ded­i­ca­tion, and com­pas­sion,” say­ing the na­tion’s fu­ture de­pends on their con­tin­ued ser­vice.

This year’s theme, Re­cast­ing Teach­ing as a Col­lab­o­ra­tive Pro­fes­sion, she said, re­flect­ed her be­lief that ed­u­ca­tion flour­ish­es through part­ner­ship and shared re­spon­si­bil­i­ty.

“Teach­ing was my first call­ing and re­mains my guid­ing pur­pose,” Per­sad-Bisses­sar said, re­call­ing her years in class­rooms in Trinidad and Ja­maica. “Every child needs a cham­pi­on, and every teacher de­serves re­spect, sup­port, and the free­dom to thrive as part of a strong pro­fes­sion­al com­mu­ni­ty.”

The Prime Min­is­ter said the theme aligns with the 1966 ILO/UN­ESCO and 1997 High­er Ed­u­ca­tion Rec­om­men­da­tions, as well as the 2024 UN High-Lev­el Pan­el’s call to end teacher iso­la­tion through stronger col­lab­o­ra­tion. She said her ad­min­is­tra­tion is em­brac­ing this vi­sion by plac­ing teach­ers at the cen­tre of ed­u­ca­tion re­form.

Out­lin­ing key ini­tia­tives, Per­sad-Bisses­sar said her Gov­ern­ment is:

Equip­ping every Form 1 class with lap­tops and dig­i­tal tools

Ex­pand­ing book-grants and school-meal sup­port

In­tro­duc­ing AI-as­sist­ed ear­ly-child­hood screen­ing

In­vest­ing in con­tin­u­ous up­skilling and men­tor­ship net­works

Pri­ori­tis­ing safe, mod­ernised schools and pro­fes­sion­al learn­ing com­mu­ni­ties.

She ac­knowl­edged teach­ers’ re­silience through pan­demics, floods, and evolv­ing cur­ric­u­la, not­ing their “dai­ly courage” and “un­seen sac­ri­fices.”

“You car­ry more than lessons; you car­ry the torch of na­tion-build­ing,” she said. “Let this day re­new our col­lec­tive pledge to up­hold your dig­ni­ty, strength­en col­lab­o­ra­tion, and en­sure every child can look to the fu­ture with con­fi­dence.”