NEW SCHOOL COMING

Minister of Education, Santia Bradshaw, says her ministry will be constructing a new school to accommodate the staff and students of the St. Mark’s Primary School.

She further stated the ministry is presently working with a private benefactor to acquire the land needed for this. Bradshaw noted that the challenge facing that Blades Hill, St. Philip institution over the years has been having “a large student roll but not having sufficient plant to be able to allow children to properly play and, certainly, to be able to utilise the entire space that is there”.

“We are in the process at the Ministry of Education [of] looking at all of the schools, but in particular, if I take St. Mark’s for instance, we are in the process of working with a private benefactor to donate some lands through the Ministry of Education in order to be able to construct an entirely new school so that we can relocate those students. I am sure that will not only benefit those in that surrounding area, but I am sure it will ease some of the pressure on institutions such as this as well,” she said.

Bradshaw’s comments came yesterday while addressing an unveiling ceremony at the Hilda Skeene Primary School in Ruby, St. Philip. During this event, a bust was unveiled to honour the memory of educator, the late Hilda Aston Skeene.

Bradshaw also used the occasion to make mention of the agricultural programme the ministry plans to have in all public primary schools.

“Very shortly when we start back in September, it is the Ministry’s intention to start the process of working with a number of the agricultural teachers and those who are interested in agriculture across the schools, to ensure that every single primary school has an agricultural programme, not just Hilda Skeene.

“I know the pandemic has impacted in a number of ways the ability to keep animals, and therefore, we may have to make some variations to the programmes. But at the genesis of all that we do must be a better understanding by the teaching profession, certainly, to be able to incorporate aspects of agriculture into everyday, basic education needs for our students,” she said.