Dear Editor,
I would like to thank you for allowing me to use this space in your opinion section. As a long time voter who voted for the different main parties in the past, I am once again at the political cross roads: Who to vote for? Which party to vote for? All candidates are talking about creating jobs, upgrading our educational system and other popular political topics. But what are our politicians actually going to do and how do they intend to do this?
My intention is to use any medium available to me in the next coming weeks to start a discussion or to simply give my opinion on a topic. In this opinion letter I would like to address "edu-tourism".
I am all for diversifying our economy (very popular phrase being tossed around by our politicians), but how are we going to make this happen? Which pillar will be added to our economy or how will we diversify our tourism product? In my humble opinion "edu-tourism" is one of the possibilities that is still there to explore and exploit.
We have so many of our young adults leaving the island, not to return (brain drain), parents send money abroad to support their child while studying (capital leaving our economy) and there is a lack of educational programs that are available on our island (that match our labor market). These are three topics each by itself that warrant a feasibility study on "edu-tourism".
Looking at the DeVry institute and the amount of money that is involved with that institute, it makes me wonder why Sint Maarten never created such institute or upgraded our own university. Thousands of students came to Sint Maarten and contributed in different ways to this island (by paying rent, participating in charity events, shopping, etc.).
I think that Sint Maarten can kill two birds with one stone when engaging in/expanding "edu-tourism": we can keep our young bright minds on the island while offering them a decent education and we might be able to give our economy another boost. I would like to hear from the candidates where they stand on this topic. What is there view on "edu-tourism"? If they are in favor, how would they make this a reality? I'm looking forward to the (re)actions from candidates relating to this topic. The level of discussions and the pragmatic approach on certain issues will determine how I will cast my vote.
Andrew Smith