Education Minister Daryll Matthew
Education Minister Daryll Matthew is defending the controversial merger of Glanvilles Secondary School and Pares Secondary School, a decision that has sparked significant community backlash.
This announcement, approved by the Cabinet last week, will take effect in September, when the new academic year begins.
Since the announcements, there have been mixed feelings from the public.
The community response was swift, culminating in protests led by local parent Franz DeFrietas, who expressed frustration over the unexpected nature of the decision.
Minister Matthew defended the merger, stating it was essential due to the ineffective allocation of resources. Both schools operated far below their capacity, resulting in unsustainable teaching conditions.
He highlighted that each school has about 150 to 160 students, sometimes leading to classes with just two students.
Matthew reassured parents about potential transportation costs and hardships by pledging that the government’s uniform voucher program would provide additional support for students making the transition from Glanvilles to Pares Secondary.
He emphasized that measures would be in place to prevent financial strain on families during this transition.
Additionally, he promised significant upgrades to Pares Secondary over the summer to ensure that incoming students from Glanvilles would not face lesser facilities.
The minister also announced that Glanvilles will be reimagined as the new location for the School of Agriculture, which was initially planned for the former Bethesda School site. He explained that redeveloping Bethesda would be costly and time-consuming, making repurposing Glanvilles a more immediate solution to address food security needs.
The new agricultural program will be integrated into the Antigua and Barbuda College of Advanced Studies, kicking off at the TVET level in September, with existing international partnerships to aid in curriculum development.
Matthew noted that while Glanvilles will focus on hydroponic and aquaponics studies, Bethesda, once operational, could specialize in animal husbandry.
Is anybody still tuned in to asses like Defreitas? He will never be GREATFUL when it comes to education reform. He is so reflective of his Party – obsolete, asinine, irrelevant. Don’t bother to waste time and effort explaining issues this heavy to the likes of noise makers like Defreitas. Wasted sperm!
I sick and fed up of the back and forth explanations
Minister you absolutely don’t need to defend your decision. You don’t have to say Marsh to call dogs who bark. This is a brilliant idea from brilliant minds. Let it sink in and let it sit.
As long as you are confident you made the right choice the you don’t need to justify your reasoning. Its like choosing a wife. Who the hell cares what people think?
As long as you are confident you made right choice the you don’t need to justify your reasoning. Its like choosing a wife. Who the hell cares what people think?
This is a brilliant move on all fronts by visionaries who want to improve Antigua. The consolidation of resources and food security issues are addressed all at once. Kudos.
This is a decision made by the government and I’m quite sure that this decision wasn’t just out the pocket! I’m sure time was spent pondering upon this. Daryll you don’t need to explain to empty barrels that will only echo
The government would say anything to fool us anyway. We suppose to sit hear and listen to the lies?
I believe that when government is making these choices they should come to the people and seek approval. You can’t just make these decisions in the dead of night and come and dump it on people. Its like Gaston making policy decisions on his radio station on aa Saturday when the thought comes to him
It feels like the decision was made without us. Even if the merger makes sense on paper, the community should have been part of the discussion before it was finalized.