MAYAGUANA PARENTS OPPOSE SCHOOL CLOSING

Opposition spokesman on Education  Senator Michael Darville wrote:

On proposed changes to the Mayaguana School System

For Immediate Release

3 September 2020

The community of Mayaguana is resolute in its opposition to the government’s plans to structurally and functionally  change the education system on that island.

They characterize the changes as backwards and regressive.

Specifically, the changes involve the transfer of the students and teachers from the now closed high school at Abraham’s Bay to the primary school house located at Pirate’s Well.

According to residents, the acquisition and refurbishment of the former lodge hall at Pirate’s Well into classrooms cannot happen in time to meet the 5 October school opening date. Additionally, the building is too small to accommodate the students and teachers from the high school.

In the minds of many in the Mayaguana community, the government’s plan to convert the current school system into an ‘amalgamated school of Mayaguana comprehensive school’ is nothing more than a fancy terminology for ‘All Age School’, a relic of a bygone era in education and decidedly regressive in nature.

Residents have also expressed the view that the proposed relocation of the administrative building to the high school building at Abraham’s Bay is too remote and inaccessible for a business office that serves the general public.

The PLP call on the government to meet with parents and other stakeholders in the Mayaguana community with a view to finding common ground and resolving this impasse to the satisfaction of all interested parties.

End