Education Minister Alden McLaughlin received a warm welcome from Principal Karlene Buckle, all the staff and 173 students of Bodden Town Primary School on a recent visit there.
The purpose of the visit was two-fold: to tour the facilities and to personally discuss a range of current education issues with the school management and faculty, said a GIS press release.
Reassuring staff about the future of education and planned reforms, Mr. McLaughlin said that the ministry is making headway with its plans to allow schools greater autonomy in managing their affairs.
He also brought the good news that an individual Scholarship Unit is being established as part of the transformation.
‘We want to offer our children proper instruction and opportunities, which will allow them to take their rightful places in the various levels of our society,’ the Minister said.
Principal Buckle thanked the Minister for taking the time to address and listen to staff. She paid tribute to her personnel, describing them as, ‘dedicated staff members who work very well as a team, who clearly enjoy teaching, and who are as active as they are creative.’
She listed the school’s post-Ivan milestones: re-roofing and other repair works are complete, and classrooms again boast much-appreciated air-conditioning.
Subsequent discussions led to suggestions for some possible solutions to existing needs; for instance, the use of a modular unit could serve to fill the immediate need for a library, and the existing book storage area could be converted into a sick bay.
The Minister was accompanied by Permanent Secretary Angela Martins, Education Officer for Special Needs Margaret Garcia and Bodden Town MLA Osbourne Bodden.
In addition to visits, the ministry has also been conducting meetings with other principals, educators and administrators, the release said. Further meetings are planned this month dealing with issues ranging from recruitment to local teacher training and accreditation.
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