Philipsburg: --- The education department has decided to filter in the sixth graders of the Starlight Education Foundation into the regular government subsidized schools announced education commissioner Sarah Wescot Williams at Wednesday's press briefing. Wescot- Williams said government had to make a decision on the sixth graders since they are yet to hear from the Starlight Education and the business community on the reopening of the school. Wescot- Williams said that government is just proceeding with its plans to integrate the students who are out of school since January 9. While all students of the Starlight Education are being deprived of an education Wescot Williams said the 6th graders are being singled out since they should be preparing for the high school entrance examination.
The education commissioner also reminds parents of 4 to 6 year old children to contact the education department to register their children. She advised parents to walk with their child's birth certificate, copy of child's passport including the information page as well as a copy of the child's residency permit if they are in possession of one. She said the island government is busy implementing the compulsory education which is applicable to St. Maarten. Wescot Williams said the registration is necessary so that they can get an idea on how many illegal students there are on the island. She advised parents to monitor the newspapers for the notification for the registration.
Asked if the island government is ready to accept the challenge and if they have enough classrooms and teachers to accommodate all the students of Starlight Education center the commissioner said she could not give a definite answer since they simply do not know how many students they need to cater for.
Asked if the island government is looking into granting a more structural solution for the education institution the education commissioner said the island government began discussions with the institution but when it was made known that the private sector was willing to help the discussions stopped. She said for Starlight Education to receive subsidy they would need to meet certain conditions and criteria. Asked if the island government is considering the possibility of placing the students and the vacant space at the Martin Luther King Jr. School Wescot Williams said they are not because that location has to be repaired and will be used by the foundation for public education.
In the meantime, liaison officer and former civil servant Roberto Richardson said the foundation is close to closing a deal with the proprietor of the building who had the marshals placed padlocks on the school door for the lack of rent payments. Richardson said he met with landlord on several occasions to bring the matter to a close but the landlord who is obviously disappointed and hurt is trying to make sure everything is in place before reopening the doors of the school. He said the business community has done their part by making sure they have the monies in place to cover the arrears as well as rent up until August 1 2009. However, the landlord he said decided on Tuesday that she would not sign the new agreement until it has been looked at by her lawyer. Richardson said he already submitted a copy of the agreement to the proprietor's lawyer and he is confident that the matter would resolve by the end of today. He said the landlord has decided to take those steps due past promises that was made by other businesses and was not kept. He said that the landlord already indicated that if they do not have something tangible they would not remove the padlocks.
Furthermore, he said he fully understand why the landlord is taking the necessary precaution since the school management did not pay their rents for over a year.
Richardson further explained that his role is not only to get the school reopen but the businesses have indicated that they would assist management of Starlight with their finances and accounting so that this situation does not reoccur. The former civil servant said he is also busy negotiating with the education department to make sure Starlight Education Foundation get on board for government subsidy. He said he would be working very closely with the school to make sure they meet the necessary criteria to qualify for the subsidy based on the education policy. Richardson said he already held discussions with Quincy Harrigan and Mrs. Foresight- Labega regarding the school. He said he already indicated to government that the businesses are ready to work hand in hand with government until they do what is necessary to implement compulsory education which is now in its initial phases.
