Roseau, Dominica – July 28, 2010……….. The Economic and Social Review for Fiscal Year 2009/2010 reveals the full extent of Government’s spending on the education and training of the people of Dominica. The report was introduced in Parliament on Tuesday, July 13th 2010, Budget Day,
During the 2009/2010 fiscal year, ten Dominicans were awarded scholarships to pursue degrees at universities across China and ten were for study in Venezuela. Seven scholarships were given for study in Cuba and four each were awarded for study in Mexico and Russia.
In addition, five Dominicans were awarded scholarships to pursue medicine at All Saints University, four for study at Ross University School of Medicine and seven for study at Grambling State University in the United States.
The Government awarded five scholarships in Land Surveying and Geomatics in order to address the need for land surveyors.
Government also made available over $3 million in financial assistance to Dominican students pursuing tertiary level programmes at various institutions locally, on-line and overseas.
Additionally, the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development has established several safety net programmes aimed at assisting less advantaged families to ensure that all students have equal access to a well- balanced and high quality of education.
- The School Text Book Provision Scheme was broadened with expenditure amounting to approximately $70,000 from the beginning of the Academic Year in September, 2009
- For the 2009/2010 academic year, 851 children received school transfer grants at $500 each amounting to a total of $425,500
- Government spent $1.3 million for payments to private bus drivers for transportation of 1331 secondary school students from different communities on the island to various secondary schools
- Uniform allowance to students in the amount of $100,000 was also provided by the Government
- In 2009/2010 Government approved over $15,000 in payment of examination fees of students who were not able to do so
- The Ministry of Education continued to expand coverage of school feeding programmes within schools
Government will continue to invest heavily in education and training. This year, the CDB-funded US $4 million Education Enhancement project will begin. Work is also expected to commence this year on a new Dominica State College. The college project is estimated to cost US$15 million and has been funded by China.
The Economic and Social Review for Fiscal Year 2009/2010 can be accessed on the government website at http://www.dominica.gov.dm/cms/index.php?q=node/1235.
Although the goverment must be aplauded for it’s efforts in investing in education, and it is their rightful place to ensure it’s citizens have an affordable education channeled through private investments, it is also incumbent on the community on a whole to drive educational achievement by geting more involved in their communities through volunterism. Parents need to become more intimate on the dangers and high cost of ignorance, so that they can begin to realize the importance of a great education. We as a community are much better of educated, it makes us more competive in the global marketplace, but more so it is about investing in our community.
While I applaud the government for the good initiative in helping the few Dominicans to attain a higher level of education, what alludes me is the fact that the teachers who are supposed to intiate education at home and at the roots are not as fortunate.
If the government can fund so many scholarships to foreign countries in order for persons to attain a higher level of education what is so wrong with helping the teachers who are here..at home working on becoming cerftified at what we are paid to do?
The government has pulled funding that was once available to teachers in seeking the associate degree at the state college and have point blank refused to even help those who come from far with transportation.
So in all of this generosity perhaps a few crumbs could be thrown our way ( to we teachers) as we seek to not only make ourselves developed for personal gain but for the betterment of the children we teach.
I must commend the governmnet on the initiative. However, I am a bit concerned as to why they would make half a million dollars available( I mean give) to the proprietor of the BTC, a private institution, when many governmnet schools on the islands do not have some of the basics like computers.
That money could be used elsewhere … The Minister must get his act together since some of that money could be used to pay graduate teachers. Come on, do not tell people to go and upgrade their skills and then they are not paid properly when they ar qualified. They are all mor qualified than the minister, so maybe thay is why is does not want to recognize them. Choo Pool.
Government should not send any more students to Venezuela because they are not issued with their certificates after graduation.
“Government also made available over $3 million in financial assistance to Dominican students pursuing tertiary level programmes at various institutions locally, on-line and overseas.”
“Made Available??” Then why is it that some students are unable to attend regular classes nor sit end of semester exams because the government of Dominica is owing those institutions money for the past year, and in some cases up to three semesters?