Bradshaw defends performance at helm of Education Ministry

Santia Bradshaw on Tuesday defended her stewardship of the Ministry of Education against criticism by opposing political parties about the way the ministry has functioned during the COVID 19
pandemic.

Speaking during a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) virtual political meeting, she said significant progress in structural and electrical upgrades had been made at educational institutions over the last two years, while, on the other hand, projects promised under the previous Democratic Labour Party (DLP) administration never saw the light of day.

“We have started to do the electrical upgrades at these schools because safety is paramount to the Barbados Labour Party. So, when I hear people say ‘you did not do this’ and when [students] go back to school you know you are going to hear ‘oh this window did not get fixed, this door did not get fixed’, we can’t do all one time.

“But I can go on record and say that the journey has started, and if you put the two records side by side for me as Minister and anybody else who came before under the Democratic Labour Party administration, the record is sound, because we have invested heavily in making sure that we have these things available to our young people,” she said.

Bradshaw also pointed to another critical move in education under the BLP – the decision to reopen the Alma Parris Memorial School, which had been unceremoniously closed by the DLP on September 1, 2017.

She once again chastised the party for closing a school that had an important role in the development of students with behavioural and learning challenges.

“They shut down the school and scattered them [students] across the country without any kind of support at those institutions to make sure that children who might need extra support were given the handholding to make sure that they were able to be on par with their peers,” Bradshaw said.

“I want to tell you tonight, the work has started on the Alma Parris School, and I am hopeful that by the time this whole election is over and we start the Estimates, we are going to be in a position to welcome the first cohort of students to that school for the next term. That is what we have been working on.” (SB)