By SANCHESKA DORSETT

Tribune Staff Reporter

sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IF ELECTED to office, the Free National Movement plans to “immediately” implement a pilot programme to separate the education of boys and girls in classes and schools.

In an interview with The Tribune, FNM candidate for South Beach Jeffery Lloyd said he believes “boys and girls learn differently” and studies have shown that young adults thrive “better” in single gender classes.

FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis has referred to Mr Lloyd as a likely education minister if the FNM gains control of the government.

Mr Lloyd also told The Tribune that he is not a proponent of sex education for students but favours family life classes instead.

“Boys and girls learn differently, young men and young females learn differently and they advance at different paces,” Mr Lloyd said.

“Universally, same sex schools are recognised for its benefits. So we propose to separate the genders, in some instances it may be done within classes at the schools and in certain contexts the separation can be done in schools between 6th and 7th grade. I had the benefit of going to an all boys school, I went to St Augustine’s College in the ‘60s and I also was the executive director of an all boys programme called YEAST for over 13 years and we have found it to be phenomenally successful,” Mr Lloyd said.

“In some instances, we would also provide boarding facilities so that parents can choose whether they want their child to experience something that could not be (obtained) in the home environment.”

Mr Lloyd said there will be no additional fees attached to this proposed initiative because the “public already pays more than enough in taxes to defray the cost of education.”

He also said the educational system can only be fixed with public cooperation and the help of families.

Mr Lloyd also said: “I am not in favour of sex education in the classrooms but we will have family life classes.

“So with that we can focus on what a family is and what it means to be a family and how the family is maintained. It will be holistic not just a single focus on sex but a holistic approach to family life.”

Mr Lloyd has previously called for the re-establishment of the Youth Empowerment and Skills Training Institute (YEAST) programme.

He founded the institute in the late 1990s to help at-risk young men. However, the programme was de-funded by the FNM in 2009, then led by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, just after the global financial crisis that began in 2008.