PM Says Govt Wants Results from Huge Spending on Education

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding warned last night that his Government wants better results from the $70 billion it is spending on education this financial year.
“We spend a lot of money on education, but we do not feel we are getting the value we expect. Everybody is going to have to pull up their socks,” the Prime Minister told the crowd attending his latest Town Hall Meeting at St. Theresa’s Church, Annotto Bay, St. Mary.
Mr. Golding said that he did not intend to cast blame on any particular stakeholder, but felt that teachers, parents and students will have to share the responsibility for the success of the programme.
According to the Prime Minister, the education system could not continue to operate like a “conveyor belt” at the end of which students turn up dressed “cris” for graduation, “and when you hand them the certificate they turn it upside down, because they can’t read it.”

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding gets some local advice from Member of Parliament, Tarn Peralto, whose South East St.Mary constituency hosted last night’s Town Hall Meeting at the St. Theresa Church, Annotto Bay, St. Mary.

“That don’t make sense,” he emphasised, as he urged students, parents and teachers to work together to improve their performances this year.
“We are demanding more from teachers. Everbody who performs, will have to account for their level of performance,” he stated.
He said that for this purpose, the National Education Inspectorate (NEI) is being established as the quality control and assurance mechanism for the education system.
He said that the Government was not satisfied with the quality of parenting either, thus the need for the establishment of the National Parenting Commission, as parents will have to do more than just send their children to school.

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding gestures as he addresses the crowd, at last night’s Town Hall Meeting at the St. Theresa Church, Annotto Bay, St. Mary.

“It is not just the children that we will have to train, but we will have train some parents, too,” the Prime Minister argued, noting the need for parental authority to support the work of the teachers in educating children.
He said that in terms of the children who are not performing up to standard, special summer classes are being designed, as well as other remedial treatments.
Mr. Golding said that the Government is also looking at restructuring the HEART Programme to meet current needs, by training students who can create their own employment when jobs are unavailable.
In terms of nutrition in the schools, he said the Ministry of Education was in dialogue with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce to reduce the use of imported foods in the school feeding programme, and replace them with local produce.
He said that the Scientific Research Council (SRC) was already working on a project to incorporate locally produced foods into the programme, to help boost local agricultural production, while filling the children’s nutritional needs.
Mr. Golding was supported by Minister of Transport and Works, Hon. Mike Henry, who updated the crowd on road repair projects in St. Mary, as well as the expansion of the Boscobel Aerodrome.
Minister of National Security, Senator the Hon. Dwight Nelson, spoke on plans to boost the number of police available in the parish to protect residents terrified of crime.
Other speakers included Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Member of Parliament for Western St. Mary Hon. Robert Montague; MP for South Eastern St. Mary, which hosted the meeting, Tarn Peralto; Minister with Responsibility for Information and Telecommunications Hon. Daryl Vaz; and His Worship the Mayor of Port Maria Councillor Richard Creary.
The popular series of meetings allows the Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet to explain features of the 2009/10 Budget, and answer questions from the audience.