Philipsburg:--- The Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs presented some details about her recent trip to the Netherlands as she accompanied some 58 students who left the island to further their education.
Minister Jacobs said that the students arrived in the Netherlands safely and they were well received by the S4 Foundation and the Cabinet of the Minister of Plenipotentiary. Minister Jacobs said that all students have been placed and they were each assigned mentors with whom they are now bonding. The Minister of Education further explained that S4 will continue to serve its purpose by taking care of St. Maarten students in the Netherlands, their Service Level Agreement has been extended until December 2012.
The Minister said during her visit to the Netherlands she met with ROC where they discussed the exchanging of information on the building up of the SBO programs on St. Maarten and improving the language development of students on St. Maarten prior to them leaving to the Netherlands and other regions. The Education Minister said she also held talks with the Hanze Hogeschool regarding the international and HBO Law programs which will be given at the University of St. Martin. She said representatives of Hanze Hogeschool will be visiting the island in September to continue talks with USM as well as with the Minister of Education.
The Minister also confirmed that she held talks with the St. Maarten House in the Hague with regards to the monitoring of St. Maarten students in the Netherlands. She said that the S4 workers are doing a good job for St. Maarten and the intention is to move the workers of S4 closer to the St. Maarten House. Minister Jacobs said that a space was found in the same building as the St. Maarten House for those workers. Minister Jacobs said currently S4 has no director but the office manager and the staff that are currently handling student affairs at S4 are working hard and to her satisfaction. She further explained that while there is no director at S4, the board of S4 has taken a hands on approach in managing the finances for the students. Minister Jacobs said that she held talks with the board of S4 and the Minister of Plenipotentiary regarding the monitoring of St. Maarten students and one of the concerns is the transfer of information from S4 to the St. Maarten. She said St. Maarten needs to know how many students are in the Netherlands studying and how long they are there. Minister Jacobs said that type of communication from S4 to St. Maarten was not done properly therefore the government is looking into the future by extending the Service Level Agreement to December 2012. Minister Jacobs said after that, the people that are working for S4 would move to the St. Maarten House in the Netherlands to continue their work as a branch office of study financing.
The Minister of Education further explained that her Ministry still has to decide whether or not they want a foundation to deal with the students' affairs or have a branch office of study financing. The latter she said is more feasible and convenient for government.
