GREAT BAY:--- Quality Education forms a core part of any successful, dynamic and sustainable society. The United St. Maarten (US) Party understands this and as such considers developing and providing the highest quality education system and services to be one of the Party's main goals.
"No matter what area of life you take, a strong foundation is imperative, it's the same rule that applies for building a house, no matter how beautiful the top looks, it will crumble if it does not have a solid foundation," Leona Marlin; the number two candidate on the USp list explained. "We cannot deny the fact that more attention needs to be given to our school system, for example take a look at our St. Martin University, it has been in existence for over 25 years and is still not an accredited institution. With such a lucrative resource in our possession we should invest not only money, but also the necessary time to put in place a structure to ensure growth and development of the institution. By doing so, we can:
- Provide quality education at an accredited standard, which will raise us to the level of other international institutions.
- Many students will not have to travel abroad to get the education and training they need as it will be offered right here on the island, which in turn will save the government money from the budget they usually use to provide funding for students studying abroad, funds which they can then use to grant scholarships and more affordable tuition fees to local students.
- With a fully accredited university on the island, this will attract foreign students to our shores, thus creating a boost in several sectors like hospitality, our airport and other local businesses.
- Finally, having a functioning, accredited university minimizes brain drain; which is where our qualified professionals migrate to other countries to live and work, this is something that St. Maarten has suffered from tremendously over the years, mostly because of lack of guidance in areas of study and also the fact that job availability and proper compensation for work is not readily available on the island.
If we put our minds and our hearts in it, we can build a better St. Maarten," Marlin-Romeo said. "One which will provide and sustain itself, but in order for us to get there, we need to build a solid foundation, put strategies and the right people in place to action our plans. Speaking from experience as someone who went through the education system from pre-school to university at the highest level, we do not need to reinvent the wheel. St. Maarten has a lot of potential; we just need to tap into our resources and find ways to facilitate growth."
