[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t the most recent House meeting, the MP for Vieux Fort North, Mr. Moses Jn. Baptiste underscored what he painted as an injustice by the government; specifically, by the Minister of Education, Ms. Gale Rigobert. Referencing the education sector, Moses cited the Beanefield Secondary School. “Parents are worried, angry and very concerned,” he said. “They [the government] allowed the students to select the school, and now parents are officially told they have to change the choices made for their children.”
Hinting at discrimination, Moses charged that such a situation would never involve a Castries-based school, because there would be “pandemonium in this country”.
Baptiste not only demanded the situation be resolved, but he also proposed a solution: “The ministry, before September, must find accommodation for those children. The block [a building] in the Vieux Fort Primary School can be used at minimal cost. When the Vieux Fort Infant School was being repaired, that same block was used. Why can’t the Beanefield Secondary School children use that block?” The MP described the matter as one “crying out for an explanation and for justice!”
Dr. Gale Rigobert did not immediately address the MP’s remarks. But she did at Monday’s pre-Cabinet press briefing: “It was brought to my attention that we were running into a capacity challenge at the Beanefield Secondary School, and internally, instruction was given to engage with stakeholders to determine a way forward. In its current construct, there was no physical space to house incoming form one students.”
Acknowledging that the situation had indeed been poorly handled, Rigobert said: “I am the leader of the ministry; I will assume full responsibility for whomever, and whichever unit, might have dropped the ball in this regard. Nevertheless, I have since asked again that there be consultation and engagement with all stakeholders with the view to correcting the Beanefield situation.”
She went further, perhaps setting a record in the process: “I bitterly regret the sequence of events. I regret that what is now happening, should have happened before the parents chose this school as an option for their children. I apologize on behalf of my staff that this was not done previously.”
Baptiste remained unimpressed. His public reaction on Thursday was: “While the minister Rigobert offered an apology, I have not seen any statement that relates to how the problem will be solved. We understand that pressure is still being put to bear on the parents, to change the choices of the children. I will await the actions of the government; I don’t trust what this government says. I look forward to documents, or actual work being done. I do not have any evidence that the government will do as the minister says!”
