Washington Archibald  High School 2007 Graduating Class

 

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JULY 10TH 2007 (CUOPM)– St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas says the strategy of his governing St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party "is to break the cycle of poverty through education and land ownership." 

 

 

 "My Government is proud of the high standing St. Kitts and Nevis has attained in the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index Ranking for the year 2006. St. Kitts and Nevis is ranked number 51 out of 177 countries.

 We rank second only to Barbados in the Caribbean on the Human Development Index, which assesses human development indicators, such as life expectancy, child mortality, inequality and human development, education, and poverty," Dr. Douglas told the 2007 Graduating Class of the Saddlers Primary School.

 

He noted that while his Government is heartened by St. Kitts and Nevis’s standing, it is determined to press forward by improving access to and equality in education.Prime Minister Douglas, who is also the Parliamentary Representative also called on parents and teachers to do their best to inculcate not only the nuts and bolts of intelligence in the form of facts and figures into the malleable, young minds in their charge, but the time to develop their emotional intelligence.

 

"Emotional intelligence takes the form of empathy and consideration for others; motivation; self-awareness, and self-discipline, and I dare say that the most important determinant of these traits is the exposure that one receives in early childhood to supportive parents; good mentors, and role models," said the St. Kitts and Nevis leader in his address, seen as a message to the graduating classes of all the primary and high schools in St. Kitts and Nevis.

 

"The fact that the motto of Saddlers Primary School is "Enter to Learn, Leave to Exemplify" more than suggests to me that you fourteen graduants will illustrate by example the values of a strong work ethic, honesty, and empathy; the very same example that your instructors at this excellent institution of learning have shown to you," said Dr. Douglas.He noted that "with a strong work ethic, you will not only work hard for yourself and your family, but also for your community so that all of us can be proud."                                                         ~~Adz:Right~~

 

"With honesty, you will stay true to yourself and the values that your parents and community have instilled in you, and no matter how educated and accomplished you become later in life you will never disown your country and the members of your community. With empathy, you will have the self-awareness to understand yourself, and you will feel concern for your neighbours and countrymen. With these three values: a strong work ethic, honesty, and empathy, you WILL keep in touch," said Dr. Douglas.

 

"This is my overriding message to you all this afternoon; graduants; parents, and teachers alike: KEEP IN TOUCH. That is what two young men from your community, Mr. Edward Henry and Mr. Theodore Phipps, have done. All fourteen graduants know Mr. Henry and Mr. Phipps well. I understand that Mr. Henry, a bus driver has been tutoring Grade Six students for three years, helping them out on Saturdays to prepare for Tests of Standard. And Mr. Phipps has been tutoring you graduants for a year, giving you extra social studies lessons while working in the Ministry of Social Development and giving extra lessons to students from Cayon High School as well. I understand that Mr. Phipps graduated from a university in Cuba under a successful scholarship program that my Government has established with that country," said Prime Minister Douglas.

 

He reiterated that his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Government is very much concerned with promoting human development and continues to foster relationships with institutions of higher learning in its pursuit to give people ample opportunities so that they can ultimately contribute to the human resource development of this country. Universities that consistently partner with the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Government are Cameron University, Midwestern State University; Florida Memorial University; University of Alabama at Huntsville and at Birmingham; Florida A & M University, and Stephen F. Austin State University.

 

"Recently, Cameron University, which my Government has been partnering with for 10 years now, decided that applicants from St. Kitts and Nevis who have successfully completed two years of Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College, or who have attained GCE Advanced Level subjects, will automatically qualify to pay its considerably reduced in-state tuition fees," disclosed Prime Minister Douglas.

 

Dr. Douglas disclosed that in order to prepare St. Kitts and Nevis students adequately for secondary and tertiary education, his Government has placed strong emphasis on curriculum development and training in the Ministry of Education. Government has been implementing intervention programs targeted at improving the reading proficiency level of older children and school leavers who struggle with words. The Curriculum Development Unit began training more than one hundred teachers in all seventeen government schools in February to administer a micro-diagnostic reading test created in 1995 by Valentine Milner, a lecturer in the Centre for Child Assessment and Research in Education at The Micro College in Jamaica.

 

"This micro-diagnostic reading test would assess the reading and comprehension skills of students in Grade One through Grade Eight. When administered in schools, the micro-diagnostic reading test will evaluate children’s skill levels in the areas of word recognition, listening comprehension, oral reading and comprehension, as well as silent reading and comprehension," said Dr. Douglas, who added that the information gleaned will be invaluable for curriculum development and planning purposes.

 

"Students who perform two or more grade levels below average on the micro-diagnostic test will be referred for more testing to determine the root of the problem because poor performance could be tied to poor sight or hearing," said the Prime Minister, who also mentioned that the Ministry of Education has also been partnering with its Cuban counterpart to help young people and adults who struggle to read and write.

 

"Under this arrangement, two consultants from Cuba’s Ministry of Education came to St. Kitts back in February to oversee a pilot project for a successful literacy program. The "Yes I Can" programme, created in Cuba, has a proven track record in more than 15 countries. The two Cuban consultants trained about 20 facilitators to teach "Yes I Can" to students enrolled in the pilot project," said the Prime Minister.