Volume No. 2 Issue No. 17 - Monday October 15, 2007
Spending on Education reaches record $48.4 million
 By Sean Douglas
Education minister Henderson addresses delegates
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In a passionate address to the Delegates Conference of the Dominica Labour Party in Castle Bruce recently, Minister for Education, Human Resource Development, Sports and Youth Affairs, Hon. Vince Henderson spoke of his Government�s unswerving commitment to empower the people of Dominica through education.
Hon. Vince Henderson outlined Government�s initiatives and investments in the sphere of education that have led to the empowerment of the people of Dominica.
� Spending on education has reached a record $48.4 million in the 2007/2008 financial year;
� Record numbers of Dominican students are studying overseas: forty-eight(48) in China; forty-five(45) in Venezuela; Thirty-four(34) in Mexico; One hundred and five(105) in Cuba;
� In the year 2000, only five (5) children out of every ten (10) from Grade 6 had a place at a secondary school. From 2005, Universal Secondary Education(USE) was achieved with a place for every child at Grade 6 at a secondary school and that was achieved through investments in extra classrooms and the training of teachers;
� Expansion of the School Feeding Programme whereby Government is providing meals for children in nine (9)schools with private sector involvement in four(4) schools;
� Through an initial investment of $124,000 Government procured a bus, a driver and an attendant to transport eighty-eight(88)school children from Grand Fond free of charge to the Castle Bruce Secondary School;
� Government is also paying private bus operators to transport children from Grand Fond, La Plaine, Delices, Boetica and Riviere Cyrique to the Castle Bruce Secondary School and secondary schools in Roseau;
� $152,000 spent in last financial year on school fees, books, uniform and transportation assisting 554 needy children through Education Trust Fund;
� For the first time in 20 years, the award for a bursary has been increased from $100- $250 and the award for a scholarship has been increased from $300- $500;
� Government continues to provide for the island scholar annually;
� Government is providing full scholarships for the top five(5) performers at the Dominica State College;
� Through a new initiative, a School Transfer Grant of $250 per child, Government has spent $115,000 and helped 480 children from needy families make the transition from primary to secondary school;
� Government has allocated nearly $1.6 million in this financial year to help 531 Dominicans to pursue studies in various fields; Fifty-four (54) teachers are currently pursuing studies at a cost of $401,702; Twenty-six(26) nurses are currently pursuing undergraduate degrees in general nursing, nursing education and administration at a cost of $214,800;
One hundred and seventy-four(174) students thus far assisted to attend the Dominica State College; Sixty-one students at the Business Training Centre (BTC) are being assisted financially at a cost of $83,000; In this financial year provided 100% scholarships for twenty-one(21) teachers and covered 90% of the tuition fees for thirty-three-three(33) more teachers;
� Partnership with the University of the West Indies has provided training for teachers in a number of areas to include literacy and numeracy;
� Government has provided partial scholarships for Dominicans studying at Grambling State University in the United States of America;
� Establishment of Dominica State College in 2002 has seen student numbers soar from an average of 250 per year at the Clifton Dupigny Community College to 2120 students in 2007;
� New partnership between DeVry University and the Dominica State College will provide opportunities for graduates of the DSC;
� Articulation agreements signed by the DSC with five other universities;
� With the assistance of the Government of the Republic of Cuba, 166 nurses are being trained at the DSC, unprecedented in Dominica;
� Partnership with the University of the West Indies(UWI) strengthened as graduates in Humanities and Social Sciences from DSC can transfer credits to UWI;
� The introduction of community service in schools in an effort to inculcate in children good character to enable them to continue to be constructive citizens;
� The introduction of civics in schools as an integral part of the curriculum;
� Work completed on North East Comprehensive School at a cost of over $19 million;
� Work has begun on the new Roosevelt Douglas Primary School at a cost of $6.2 million;
� Work has started on phase two of the Dominica Grammar School at a cost of $3.4 million;
� Approval granted for the construction of a new primary school in San Sauveur to start in this financial year; $200,000 to be spent in this financial year on temporary accommodation for students.
The Roosevelt Skerrit Government is also aiming to empower people through education by striving to have at least one university graduate in every household by 2015.
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