St. Maarten Private Eye

From SMN News

Dawn Beach: ----- Minister of Justice David Dick is upset that politicians on St. Maarten are playing with words, the Minister said he is even more upset with the Chairman of the Executive Council and Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards for not making sure compulsory education is implemented. To bring his point across the Minister confronted Leader of Government and Commissioner of Education Sarah Wescot Williams as she arrived at the Westin Dawn Beach yesterday morning telling her “Immigration has nothing to do with education and it is a mandatory worldwide for all children to be educated. The Minister in his hallway conversation told the Commissioner that they need to make sure all children on the island is educated and that the immigration policies has nothing to do with the implementation. The commissioner in her defense told the Minister that St. Maarten needs the immigration policies since they are the ones that are asked to implement these policies. She further explained the Minister that the island government cannot build classrooms and hire teachers for children that are living on the illegally and who faces the possibility of being deported. “When we build three classrooms and hire teachers to man these classrooms that would accommodate 60 children and two months later they are deported what would government do with these classrooms and the teachers she asked Minister Dick”.

In an interview with SMN News the Minister said that he is vexed with the situation and for this reason he did not respond to a letter sent to him by the local government. “Immigration has nothing to do with Education and I want to assure people that the immigration officers will not be going into the schools to look for illegal children. That would be against ethics and children needs to be with their parents and if by chance the officers have illegal minors then he or she would look for the parents and they would all be sent back and vise versa. But we are not going to be targeting children” Dick said all children are entitled to be in school and immigration will not interfere with this. “I have discussed this matter with the Lt. Governor on more than one occasion and I really cannot see why he is not making sure that compulsory education is implemented on St. Maarten.” “Children have to go to school and there is no more discussion on this matter. I have been very clear on numerous occasions.” He said that if the government is going to link education to immigration then he would need to link immigration to labour.

The Minister has advised the island government to implement compulsory education since it will work in the benefit of the island. The Minister said that he as Minister of Justice can use judicial procedures to make sure that the compulsory education is implemented throughout the Antilles but he would prefer for those involved to make the necessary effort to have it done.

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