Unite Caribbean is contributing to the preparation of an assessment on migrant and refugee children’s access to education in Trinidad and Tobago under the Inter-American Development Bank’s technical cooperation, “Promoting the Inclusion of Migrant Children in Trinidad and Tobago’s Education System.”

The assignment responds to a key implementation challenge: while recent legal and policy reforms create pathways for regularised migrant and refugee children to access public education, many continue to face practical barriers to enrolment, attendance, retention, and meaningful inclusion. These barriers include administrative and documentation requirements, language constraints, limited access to information, varying levels of school readiness, transportation and cost considerations, and inconsistencies in referral and support mechanisms.

Unite Caribbean’s approach combines qualitative and quantitative methods to produce a practical, operational diagnostic. The methodology includes key informant interviews with institutional stakeholders, focus group discussions with migrant families and school communities, and surveys with migrant and refugee children both inside and outside the formal education system. The assessment is complemented by a review of the legal, policy, and institutional framework governing migration and education, as well as a synthesis of international good practices from comparable contexts. Particular emphasis is placed on ethical safeguards, confidentiality, child-sensitive engagement, and protection-sensitive data management, with attention to territorial variation across Trinidad and Tobago.

The final objective is to generate clear, evidence-based, and actionable recommendations to strengthen access pathways, enhance institutional coordination, support schools, and promote the effective inclusion of migrant and refugee children within the national education system.

For more information, please contact Julie Corcuff.