Philipsburg:--- Newly sworn-in Minister of Education Patricia Lourens told reporters on Thursday that a number of measures have been taken to repair and renovate various schools during the summer vacation while the bidding for furniture for the Belvedere School will take place in July 2013. The SBO School in Cay Hill is also expected to open by November 2013 when the King visits the island.
The Education Minister also explained that there has been a 31% increase in requests for study financing this year compared to last year. The Minister said in the year 2012 some 237 students applied for study financing while in 2013 344 students applied. Minister Lourens said that of that amount a total of 143 students were approved to receive study financing while the others would have to appeal their decision. SMN News asked the Minister why so many students were denied, in her response Minister Lourens said there are a number of reasons, however the figure can increase because some students that applied are still waiting on their examination results. She said so far the St. Maarten Academy and St. Dominic School did not get their examination results as yet and those two schools have the largest amount of students. "When these students get their results they can appeal the decision. Another hindrance is that study financing did not get any extra monies this year especially due to the budget cuts."
The Minister of Education also explained that because of the budget cuts and the lack of monies the Ministry has to now raise the level in order for students to obtain study financing and they would also have to conduct an analysis on what the students want to study. "We have to determine what the acceptable grades are for students to obtain study financing." The Minister also said some students may have been denied because of their age to attend the MBO schools in the Netherlands. However, she is confident that the figure will increase when the examination results are submitted and after the appeal process is finalized.
The Minister of Education confirmed on Thursday that she discussed the report that was submitted by the committee that conducted the internal investigation at the Department of Public Education and that report will be further discussed next week. One of the advices given by the committee is to remove Mrs. Glenderline Davis Holiday from her position as head of the department due to mismanagement and lack of communication.
