A team of Senior Executives of the Ministry of Education (MOE), led by the Honourable Anthony Garcia, Minister of Education met with Pan Trinbago officials to discuss plans for the successful hosting of the National Schools Panorama 2020. Leading the Pan Trinbago delegation was its President Beverly Ramsey-Moore.
Minister Garcia said that a committee comprising of officials from both the Ministry of Education and Pan Trinbago would be formed, as part of this collaborative effort to continue the successful implementation of the event this year. “We have decided to appoint a small committee that will plan the Junior Panorama this year and that committee will meet tomorrow, (Wednesday 8th January, 2020)” he said.
The Minister says the importance of having pan in our schools is a way to ensure that the culture of pan remains an integral aspect of the Nation’s culture. The Ministry of Education is playing its part, through the Multicultural Music Programme Unit, to realise this goal.
“The Multicultural Music Programme Unit is in charge of all aspects of music in our schools and pan is an important part of that whole cultural aspect of our country. The tradition of this culture is supported largely, by our pan. It is certainly my view that there should be a presence of pan in every school in Trinidad and Tobago. We will do everything to ensure that our children are able to keep that culture alive because if that is not done, we are going to lose it and we cannot afford to lose it. Pan is ours and the birth of pan must remain with Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.
Minister Garcia also stressed that teaching students to play pan significantly develops their literacy skills and powers of concentration, which helps them academically in the classroom. “Teaching pan is always important, it’s an important part of our curriculum and we see pan as an important instrument in our desire to ensure that our students learn how to come to grips with the musical aspects of our culture,” he said.