Philipsburg:--- Minister of Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture Silveria Jacobs announced on Wednesday that the teacher's summit that is being organized by her Ministry will take place on June 25, 2012 at the Westin Resort. She said teachers were asked to send her the issues (challenges) they are facing in a timely manner so that her department would be able to provide proper information to them during the summit and also to ensure the time is used adequately. Minister Jacobs said a committee has been set up to organize the summit, while various schools on the island have been informed that the summit is solely for teachers and care team members.The Education Minister said she also intends to meet with the school managers and school boards on separate date. The summit on June 25th is for teachers and care givers of the elementary schools while the summit for secondary schools teachers will take place during the first week in August prior to the re-opening of school. The date for that summit will be announced at a later date, Minister Jacobs said.
Study Financing --- Some Students denied with options given.
On the issue of study financing, the Minister said 174 students were granted study financing while 50 students were denied with an opportunity to adjust their applications. The Minister said 37 of the students that were denied study financing still have an opportunity to obtain a government grant if they make adjustments to their study financing applications. Minister Jacobs said that 26 of the students that were denied were referred to the University of Saint Martin since the courses they want to follow are available at USM, two were told they could get financial assistance for their studies if they chose SBO St. Maarten while nine of the students that were denied were referred to Curacao. The decision she said is in keeping with the ordinance on promoting students to study locally or within the region.
Minister Jacobs said the Study Financing committee still has 13 cases pending, these students she said has an opportunity to obtain study financing but that would depend on the results they obtain at the end of this school year. The Minister said all of the students were notified by telephone and they were asked to pick up the official letters that has the guidelines on how they should move forward. All students that requested study financing and were denied or given an option on where to study have the opportunity to appeal the decision that was made.
Minister Jacobs said as it stands now, the granted amount of study financing is within the budget allocated for study financing. The VOBAS course is scheduled to take place on June 25 and June 26th at the PMIA hall. The VOBAS course is for the students traveling to the Netherlands to further their studies.
School Security and Repairs.
The Education Minister said that her Ministry is also working on security for various schools during the summer vacation. She said it is customary that schools are broken into during the summer vacation. Therefore, her Ministry is doing their best to ensure that all schools are secured during the vacation period.
Minister Jacobs also announced on Wednesday that repairs will take place at the Prins Willem Alexander School, Dr. Martin Luther King School, and the M. Genevieve de Weever School. Repairs will also include the paving of the entry and parking area of some of these schools. These repairs, the Minister said are slated to be complete in time for the re-opening of school in August 2012.
Financing to USM.
The Minister of Education said that the government has assured financing for the island's university since they are currently in serious financial trouble. She said talks with USM and government are continuing. Minister Jacobs said that since talks are ongoing she is unable to divulge more information on the financial situation at USM. However, she said government has pledged to continue supporting USM financially.
When asked by SMN News if government is looking at the structure of the USM board and if she as Minister will stress that the institution gets its accreditation, Minister Jacobs said that she already asked USM to provide government with information regarding their finances before a solid commitment is made on government's financial contribution. Minister Jacob said that USM assured them that their figures are up to date, but Government she said needs to have it in order for them to take a decision.
The Minister said that based on the advice she received from various departments, accountability has to be given by persons who receive monies from government. The Minister also commended the faculty of USM for sticking with the institution even though they are being paid late. As for accreditation, the Minister said the accreditation process already began because USM is offering courses from accredited universities from Holland and other parts of the region including the United States. She said she attended the USM graduation last week and she was amazed at the amount of students that graduated from the institution while some of them will be leaving the island to further their studies.
Labour and Education Ministry working on Solutions for teachers' work permits.
Minister Jacob also announced that her Ministry is working closely with the Ministry of Labour to grant several teachers their work permits. The Minister said St. Maarten is already facing a shortage of teachers and the island cannot afford to lose more teachers, especially those that have been teaching on the island for years now.
Minister Jacob said that it is a fact that teachers must be qualified. However, there are teachers who have been teaching on the island for a long period of time and have been participating in the upgrading courses, those teachers she said will be given an extension on their work permits. Minister Jacobs said that while the files of each teacher that finds themselves in this predicament is evaluated individually. Teachers who did not complete or have their bachelor's degree will be given the opportunity to upgrade themselves and this will be included in their working agreement with various school boards.
The procedure she said will be finalized when the Minister of Labour returns to St. Maarten. She said she already spoke to the school boards so that they could inform their teachers that they will not be fired as was indicated in the past.
