Ministry Of Education Pledges To Maintain Schools

Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 28, 2013 (SKNIS): With schools across St. Kitts and Nevis opening on Monday (September 02), final touches of an upgrade project are being made to the Basseterre High School, Cayon High School and Bronte Welsh Primary School.

Minister of Education Hon. Nigel Carty, along with Permanent Secretary Ionie Liburd-Willett, Chief Education Officer Clarice Cotton and Education Planner Quinton Morton made their way to the three schools on Tuesday (August 27) to assess the progress being made.

“The Ministry is dedicated to enhancing and maintaining the learning environment,” says Minister Nigel Carty, referring to the measures that have been put in place to preserve the renovations.

“We have devised a maintenance mechanism whereby we have maintenance teams in three main sections of the country, Basseterre, the west-side of the country and the east-side of the country,” he stated. “We are going to engage plumbers, electricians, painters and so forth so that there is ongoing maintenance of our schools. I don’t think we have to wait until our schools or facilities fall into a serious state of disrepair to bring attention to them. That is what we are trying to do.”

Minister Carty added that both teachers and students should also contribute to the basic upkeep of their facilities.

“One of the things that need to happen in our schools, particularly in respect of our labs, we need to have protocols of how we operate in our labs and part of it must be properly cleaning our spaces before and after work,” he explained. “In our science labs, wood-work labs and metal-work spaces, we can’t just go in and cut wood and metal and at the end of the day walk out with our hands swinging. I think we have to train our students that as you go in you meet a place that is suitable for working; you must leave it in that same condition.”

The Education Minister and his team expressed that they are pleased with the repairs that have been made and students can look forward to a more conducive learning environment. They also commended the contractors and their workers for their hard work and dedication to the projects.