By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

SCHOOL repairs costing $1m are progressing well in Grand Bahama, Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald said on Friday following a two-day tour and inspection of government schools throughout the island.

With the start of the new academic year 10 days away, Mr Fitzgerald said he was very satisfied with the work carried out by the contractors this year. “I want to congratulate all the contractors, they did an incredible job,” he said.

“I can say and vouch that the schools will be ready. We have invested substantial money in GB schools over the last four school openings, and this year is the best the schools have ever looked for opening.

“In Grand Bahama, we would have spent $1 million normally for the last four years. GB used to get about $500,000 a year and we have doubled that for the last four school openings - that is how we were able to tackle most of the longstanding issues.”

Mr Fitzgerald ended his tour on Friday at the Jack Hayward Junior High School, where some 600 students are enrolled for the new school year. The Minister for Grand Bahama, Dr Michael Darville, accompanied him.

The government entered into a long-term lease arrangement last year with the Catholic Board of Education to use the former GB Catholic High School campus on Settler’s Way to relocate Jack Hayward Junior High. Compared to last year’s transition to the new campus, Mr Fitzgerald said that there has been tremendous improvement at the school.

“It is a lovely facility where (you and your teachers) will be able to promote excellence,” he told Shannon Rolle, who completed her first year as principal of the institution. “We have leased a number of facilities from the Catholic Board and this is one we leased. We made some significant renovations and put quite a bit of money in it. We are satisfied with the outcome,” he said.

Mr Fitzgerald also noted that significant repairs are underway at the Eight Mile Rock High School. There has been ongoing concern about the mould infestation, pigeon faeces and a leaky roof in the Science and Computer block. Teachers have staged sit-outs and protests over the problems.

“It has been a frustrating one for both myself, Dr Darville, and for the principal and teachers there,” Mr Fitzgerald said. “The work has started. We visited the school yesterday (Thursday) and extensive work is ongoing, but it is taking form and shape, and we think everyone will be extremely pleased with it.”

When asked whether there are sufficient teachers, the minister said there will be no shortage of teachers in Grand Bahama. “We have sufficient teachers this year. We have a number (of them) still waiting for appointment letters and this week we should have those in place as we are working closely with the Public Service to make sure we get those. But it won’t be a shortage of teachers from the sense that we don’t have funding, or haven’t identified teachers.”

He added: “I don’t want any teachers in the classroom unless they have their appointment letter. I just cleaned up an issue with 1,200 teachers over the last two years that we put in the classroom without appointment letters. I am not going put the ministry or another minister in that position again. We are working assiduously this week. We have 60 or so we are waiting for, and I am hoping we get those done this week. But that is a small per cent when you consider the 4,000 teachers, so it will not have any impact.”

The minister explained that all teachers have to go through security vetting, which is holding up the appointment of teachers.

He was also impressed when he visited Pineyard Technical, saying the facility provides young men with an opportunity to enter a career in welding. “We are speaking with them to see how we can work from a public-private partnership into our educational system to access these sorts of training, particularly in specialised areas like welding because there is great opportunity not only in GB, but throughout the country for welders,” he said.