Dear Mr. Editor,
First, I would like to congratulate the incoming UP/DP/Brownbill Government which I have a lot of confidence in to move us forward and addressing the real issues affecting our island.
One of the real issues I would like the Minister of Education to put high on her priority list is to accelerate the adjusted design of the draft Tertiary for Education Ordinance and to present an advanced/adjusted draft much sooner than the previous Government.
As a former Member of Parliament, I believe the previous Government could have done a better job of speeding up the process of the draft Tertiary for Education law instead of waiting two years to work on it and to have the draft ready earlier than June 2018 to present it to the Council of Ministers for approval.
I also would advise the Minister of Education to let USM Management give their input in the drafting of the law in which the former President of USM was denied in the past to give such input in the drafting of the law. This is the time for us to raise the bar and do the right thing with the input from all stakeholders in the urgent drafting of this much-needed draft ordinance for the island of St. Maarten.
There is no politics in Education. Education is our greatest pathway to opportunity in St. Maarten. So we need to invest in and strengthen our university today, and for generations to come. Education should be the Legislature's and any Government top priority and should be put at the top of any Government to do list. We need to come with a permanent solution instead of a three month MOU to save our University of St. Martin and find creative ways to increase their subsidy for USM to continue to educate our people and future generations.
In closing, I am looking forward for the new Minister of Education to put USM on the top of her to do list during her interim period in office. USM Board, Management, Staff, Faculty, Students and the people of St. Maarten would be very grateful for your assistance of making USM again the key to a brighter future in our community. USM education is an investment in our future.
Maurice Lake