The Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports (MECYS) Hon. Rodolphe Samuel, says that the Department of Education (DPE) within the ministry has been working on a number of matters related to public education and in one case is awaiting a letter from the Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) related to mold.

Samuel said that once he received an email from WITU, he spoke with the union president to acknowledge that he received the aforementioned, adding that during that conversation he could not comply with the union’s deadline of March 19, 2024, as he was busy preparing for the parliamentary discussions related to the draft 2024 national budget.

In a letter to the President of WITU Roxsana Pantophlet, Minister Samuel addressed a number of the union’s points:​

“In our conversation I explained that I would not be able to comply with your deadline of 19th March 2024 because I was busy with the draft Budget 2024.

“We then discussed the solutions provided by DPE as a solution to the teacher shortage, to which you indicated that you are not in agreement with those solutions. I then asked you if you had solutions of your own, to which you agreed to send me them in writing. In your letter of 20th, March 2024 you presented Mr. Harris as a solution for music. While you continue to talk about no response from the Minister, you failed to mention our discussion and the commitment you made to providing me with solutions to the hiring.

“In our conversation you indicated that MGVW school has 3 music teachers while PWAS has none.

“My queries to DPE indicates that all special education teachers are fully trained to teach ALL subjects. Maybe with the exception of cooking.

“All DPE schools including PWAS were provided with music instruments in September of 2021, see ADV: 13304, which did not happen in nearly 10 years. The cost of the instruments was NAF 47. 736,56.

“I am still awaiting your solutions that you promised for a music teacher.

“I have provided every DPE classroom with a digital board and every teacher with an I-7 Laptop. Every child in DPE has been provided with a tablet and on the 13th of March 2023 they were at the school. (Please see the pictures provided.)

“We have provided all teachers with training on how to use the digital boards. And I am getting indications that not all teachers have done their follow-up courses online.

“During our meeting on Monday 11th, March 2024 I learned that the physical books for “Language tree” from Macmillan were not received for PWAS, but for the other schools. I requested if there is a digital version of the book available and the computer link for the learning material for Language Tree was provided.

“It means with a little effort the teachers of DPE can All download this book with learning materials on the digital boards and use them to educate our students. The future will be digital anyway. Other schools are already doing so.

“As I said before, every student in PWAS has been provided with a tablet. There is no reason to interrupt their education for a physical book. The same was provided for math.

“In February of 2023 DPE paid Naf. 771, -- (See APO – 09913 to van Dorp for handicraft material and please see invoices provided).  If more was needed the teachers could have requested. The list that you provided on 14th, March 2024 after 10 PM has been sent to the organization for vetting and processing.

“As it regards manipulatives, please see the list of STEM MATERIAL that was in the STEM DISTRIBUTION ROOM and was distributed to teachers this school year. (January 2023)

"I have provided pictures of teachers using this material on Wednesday 13th, March 2024 the day after claims were made of not having material to use. Even the teachers that were on strike were using material which they claimed was not available to do handicraft.

“I would like to remind you that during our meeting on Monday 11th, March 2024, the WITU made claims that a teacher sent in a letter stating that she got sick because of MOLD in a classroom at PWAS. I am still awaiting WITU to provide this letter, the name of the teacher and the classroom that the WITU is talking about.

“In that meeting M. Hyman repeatedly asked everyone to stop using the word MOLD but the WITU claimed that none of us were mold experts. So, as we agreed the mold expert was called in and has proven that there is no mold. 

“The condensation of an air conditioner line seems to have been the reason for the stains on the ceiling tiles which have been replaced with new ones.

“In the meeting on 11th, March 2024 DPE HR clearly explained that it is public knowledge that MLK should be ready for August/September 2024. 

“It is interesting to hear the manager of MLK stating that he has updated his teachers on the progress of the school, but they do not want to hear it from him. The management team of MLK have access to the school. They were there on 18th, January 2023 to off load a container of furniture and other stuff that I arranged for the school.

“PWAS has 6 classes, it is not a regular FBE school, it is a special education school.

“Each class has less than 12 students and 5 of the 6 classes have a teacher assistant.

“The gym was cleaned by me, and I stopped the pigeons from going inside by placing mesh wire on the windows.

“Just like all the other schools it is on the list of repairs of the NRPB.  Furthermore, the school is less than 5 minutes’ walk from 3 sports fields.

“I would like to remind you that Sint Maarten has a Special Needs Education Policy today. This was done because I care about and understand the importance of having it in place.

“I have approved the hiring of teachers for Music, Handicraft and Home-Economics. This is presently being finalized by DPE,” the correspondence to the WITU president concludes.