Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs, Rhoda Arrindell will launch the public information campaign on Compulsory Education at the first of a series of sessions to be held Thursday, January 13, at the Rupert I. Maynard Community Center in St. Peters at 7:00PM.
Under the theme, "Compulsory Education: It’s not a choice, it’s the Law!" the sessions will, through informative interviews, public information announcements and other initiatives using the media, focus on compulsory education and the relevant laws that make it a right for every child between the ages of 4 and 18.
The campaign, consisting of several activities to inform the community about the laws, will span the months of January and February and is being funded by USONA. It is a collaborative effort of the Department of Education Section Compulsory Education Officers, and the Division of Educational Research Planning and Innovation, DERPI.
Even before she became Minister of Education, Rhoda Arrindell had, urged St. Martin to implement compulsory education for all at the 2004 Education Summit. She stated that not having compulsory education "is a crime against St. Maarten’s future" and added that "a growth of a nation is proportionally related to its progress in education".
Even though committees, task forces and work groups had been formed to find solutions for the implementation of Compulsory Education on St. Martin , it was not until 2008 that the then island government began the implementation of compulsory education after the development of a 5-year plan which is scheduled to end in 2012. During the first phase of the law, all children between the ages of 4 and 8 years were to be enrolled in a government regulated school. The opening of the Charles Leopold Bell School in 2009 was one of the first of many plans to further the implementation of the law.
The law of Compulsory Education is stipulated in the Leerplichtlandsverordening (P.B. 1991, no. 85) and is in direct alignment with the UNICEF Rights of a Child Act that states that every child has the right to an education. The purpose of the law is to ensure that all children between the ages of 4 and 18 years receive an education that equips them with the necessary skills and education needed to become self-sustainable, productive and law- abiding citizens within the community.
All children by law must attend school and be in school during school hours. The days of taking children out of school for vacations during official school hours are a thing of the past. Educating our children is of the utmost importance and the Ministry of Education is working diligently to ensure that by 2012 every child between the ages of 4 to 18 years old is in school.
Admission to all the information sessions that will be held in the various districts beginning with the one this Thursday at the Rupert I. Maynard Community Center in St. Peters is free.
Everyone, particularly parents, is encouraged to attend these sessions and stay tuned to their favorite radio stations for informative interviews. The schedule of the sessions will be posted on the Government Information Service page. If you are unable to attend any of the sessions, information can be obtained from visiting the St. Maarten Compulsory Education Information website at http://sites.google.com/site/stmaartencompulsoryeducation/, or by e-mailing sxmcomped@gmail.com, or calling the Office of Truancy at 542-2363.
Compulsory Education; It’s not a choice. It’s the LAW!