Government defends MiLAT suspension over costs and low pass rate

Government Senator and Technical Coordinator for Youth Affairs and National Service Daniel Rasheed has defended the Government’s decision to suspend the Military-Led Academic Training Programme (MiLAT), saying the programme cost taxpayers $41.6 million over three years while producing an average pass rate of 37.6 per cent. Speaking at the National Youth Conference and Exposition at the National Cycling Velodrome in Couva, Rasheed said approximately 300 young people were enrolled in MiLAT during the three-year period. He said the level of certification achieved by participants did not justify the amount of public money being spent on the programme. According to Rasheed, only about one-third of participants achieved full certification during the 2023 to 2024 period. He estimated that the $41.6 million expenditure worked out to nearly $140,000 for each young person enrolled, while many participants still left the programme without the qualifications they had entered to obtain. Rasheed also pointed to the programme’s operating expenses, saying salaries alone cost almost $8 million annually while MiLAT served approximately 81 to 100 young people. He said there were also serious concerns raised about the welfare of young people participating in the programme, arguing that those concerns could not be ignored by the Government. Rasheed rejected the suggestion that the suspension represented an abandonment of youth development initiatives. He said the Government’s intention is to examine what went wrong with MiLAT and determine how the programme could deliver better outcomes for young people and greater value for taxpayers. “It’s not an end. It’s a pause for a second chance,” Rasheed said. The Government is now reviewing its youth programmes, according to Rasheed, with a focus on ensuring future initiatives provide recognised certification, employable skills and measurable outcomes. The suspension forms part of a wider effort to reassess how State-funded youth development programmes operate and whether the resources invested are producing the intended results.