[dropcap]A[/dropcap]fter a week of dysfunction from the Ministry of Education and backlash from communities in the south, the 60 students previously accepted to Beanefield Comprehensive Secondary School will now be granted entry, come the new school year. The Department of Education faced scrutiny from government officials, parents and teachers over the course of the past few months when the department said that Beanefield would not be accepting any Form One students in September 2018. This was due to a belated construction process that sought new classrooms in order to manage incoming students.
Under the intense pressure from stakeholders, education minister Gale Rigobert announced that the students would be compensated come September. “We are committed to ensuring that the students have a place to pursue their education,” Rigobert said.
One of the more outspoken critics of the conundrum was opposition senator Guibion Ferdinand. In a press release back in May, he stated his displeasure with the handling of the situation and added: “There is still time to provide the Beanefield Comprehensive Secondary School with the additional classroom spaces that can adequately house their Form One classes this September.”
For the 60 students who will happily saunter through Beanefield’s front doors in September, the news of their acceptance is a joy. But the public still requires answers from the ministry since the problem remains unresolved. Originally, the reason these students were voided an application to the institute was because the facilities were not adequate for efficient learning and educational purposes. That problem remains. Currently, everyone is jaded by the band-aid offered by the ministry.
There has been no clear answer as to how Beanefield and the ministry will be able to house the students, considering there is still a shortage of available space.
The STAR requested more information on sustainable solutions for the construction process of the school but, though given multiple opportunities to comment, Minister Gale Rigobert chose not to respond.
Before the ministry’s acceptance announcement, Vieux Fort North MP Moses Jn Baptiste said that he had also been inquiring about information on solutions to the problems but had not received any information on planned procedures for the school.
