The Ministry of Education is pursuing several options that will facilitate the reopening of schools in Carriacou and Petite Martinique in September 2024, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl on 1 July.
A team from the ministries of Education, Infrastructure, and other officials visited Carriacou on 25 July to continue the post-Hurricane Beryl assessment of educational institutions and to meet with stakeholders to craft the way forward.
It included Minister for Education Sen. the Hon. David Andrew; Permanent Secretary with responsibility for Education Aaron Francois; Chief Education Officer Dominic Jeremiah; Ministry of Education Project Officer Ruth Charles; Engineer with the Ministry of Infrastructure Tiffani Donald; Director of Student Support Services Pearson Stroude, and TAMCC Council Deputy Chair Learrie Barry.
The visiting team met with principals, parents, student representatives and TAMCC officials at the Mermaid Beach Hotel and Restaurant. Along with Minister for Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs, they assured stakeholders that the Ministry of Education would provide support and take on board their suggestions to reopen school in September 2024. Minister Andrew also shared information on funding support that can be expected from various donors and organisations.
Stakeholders are grateful for the intervention to ensure that students in Carriacou and Petite Martinique can resume their education uninterrupted.
Following the meetings, the team toured several damaged schools, including Hillsborough Government School, Hillsborough Secondary School, Bishop’s College, Windward Pre-School and Mt Pleasant Government, which had significant roof and infrastructural damage.
Dover Government School sustained the hardest hit. Minister Andrew met the International We Love You Foundation, which, along with residents, is assisting with clearing the rubble at the school. He thanked representatives of the foundation for their humanitarian efforts in making a difficult situation easier to bear and extended appreciation to all others involved.
The Minister for Education and his team, working along with government officials and stakeholders, are confident that the existing challenges can be overcome to restore full educational access.
An evaluation and formulated solutions will be presented to Cabinet for approval and then to stakeholders before implementation.
Ministry of Education
