Cole Bay: --- Education Minister Omayra Leeflang was faced with a number of questions from the Suriname delegation who are part of the tripartite parliamentary meeting yesterday. Leeflang gave a presentation on compulsory education which is already in effect in Curacao and other islands of the Netherlands Antilles as St. Maarten is working on its implementation for the next school year. Compulsory Education in the Antilles is from age 4 to 18 while in Suriname it's from seven to fourteen.
The Suriname delegation posed questions concerning the early age bracket for compulsory education in the Antilles as well as the synchronization of the different languages to be taught in schools. Leeflang said the islands can learn from each other particularly Suriname since that country has more than one language while Dutch is taught in schools only. She said that is the case in point for the Antilles since all administrations will remain in Dutch when the islands are dismantled.
The Minister also gave a presentation on obesity which is affecting Curacao and the other islands in the Antilles. The Minister already launched a few programs where she is calling on everyone from nursery to university as well as the elderly to begin "moving their act". The programs and or laws are named "Antilles on the move" she said the idea is to make sure the people begin taking responsibility for their health since they need not wait for government to pay for these programs. She said if a person move at least half an hour a day can change their lifestyle and help eliminate obesity.
