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| The late Fitzroy C. Bryant |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, NOVEMBER 23RD 2005 Former St. Kitts and Nevis Minister of Education, the late Hon. Fitzroy Bryant has been hailed as a visionary leader, who deserves to have the nations highest tertiary educational institution named in his honour.
Delivering the Feature Address at the 17th Commencement Ceremony for the Graduating Class of 2005, Nevis-born Omelda Dasent-Tross said that Bryant as a young Minister of Education in the late 1960's, successfully bridged the socio-economic divide that characterised the education system at the time.
"Those were the days when there was a Girls High School and a Grammar School for Boys and never the twain did meet (except after classes). We paid $14.40 plus $1.00 for games every trimester. Imagine the economic hardship of the single parent family who had several teenagers to educate and for whom there was no scholarship. Clarence Fitzroy Bryant amalgamated the two secondary schools and introduced comprehensive education, Co-Ed. The not so privileged family can now have its children enjoy a grammar school education," said Dasent-Tross to the graduates.
Dasent-Tross pointed out that a singular part of Fitzroy Bryant's vision was to have a tertiary education institution where teachers can be trained and be better equipped to enter the classroom in the primary and secondary schools.
"That vision gave way to the Teachers Training College that, with the passage of years, has become the CFB College of today. In tandem with the educational and professional demands of the region, in the context of regional integration and the free movement of skilled workers under the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME), the CFBC not only offers teacher education and qualification, but also nursing education and qualification," she told the graduates, their parents and guardians and the faculty.
Dasent-Tross, a barrister with degrees in Spanish and French and the current Chief of Protocol in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointed out that the St. Kitts and Nevis nurses are now licentiates who can practise their profession in any country in the region in full compliance with the Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals Act, 1997, amended in 2005. That is a clear example of empowerment with change.
She also credited the late Fitzroy Bryant for being instrumental in opening "my eyes to self-empowerment through education, tertiary education."
A young untrained teacher of Modern Languages in the mid to late 1970's, Mrs. Dasent-Tross said she was one day summoned to the office of the Minister of Education Bryant.
"I stood before him trembling, wondering what infraction in my teaching practice I had committed. Whatever it was had to be inadvertent because I valued myself a conscientious teacher. He quickly reassured me however and gave the reason for calling me to his office. The Ministry of Education was offering me a scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Modern Languages, would I accept? I explained to him that I could not accept because I had domestic responsibilities that prevented me from leaving the island for any length of time. I was at the time responsible for raising my younger brother and had had that responsibility since I was thirteen."
"Minister Bryant understood and offered the scholarship to me again the following year. My reason for declining was the same. On the third occasion, he sat me down and explained that with a degree I would be in a better economic and professional position to take care of my brother and myself. He even brought out the payment schedule and showed me what I was receiving then and what I would be getting as a Graduate Teacher. I needed no further encouragement. I think that was my first practical illustration to the maxim "Money talks," said Dasent-Tross, who added: "My eyes were opened to the value of education in the process of self-empowerment."
She said she has since gone on to obtain several university degrees, and acquired separate professions apart from the noble teaching profession, "not because I had parents who made countless sacrifices, for I was the product of a dysfunctional family, not because of any socio-economic advantage, I could not be poorer, but because I was fortunate enough to have teachers and mentors within the community who were my heroes and role models."
Mrs. Dasent-Tross used the occasion to acknowledge and applaud the parents and guardians for their role in their education. "Greater applause however must go to the tutors and lecturers of the CFBC for their instructions to you. You owe them a great debt," she said.
