Dear Editor,
As an educator, when I read the news that our local University of St. Martin (USM) will become a branch, I just shook my head at the idea of making USM a branch campus of University of the Virgin Islands (UVI).
Mr. Editor, I believe our education system should be top priority by our local Government. Education should be legislators and government officials’ top priority. I can't understand how any country can give away its highest institution of learning that has been established to educate, train and develop its people. Do you think the Government of Curaçao or even the Virgin Islands would give away their own recognized university to an outside university? I am sure there would be a riot before that happened in their country. Only in St. Maarten. Where is the pride and love for our own local university that has produced some of St. Maarten's top directors and leaders within our community?
Mr. Editor, don't get me wrong, but I also believe in continuity which is very important when it comes to education, and UVI assisting USM is the most realistic way for now in keeping USM doors open for our students. I applaud University of the Virgin Islands for assisting USM with rescuing the semester and continuing the GED program for our students to continue pursuing their educational goals.
But I don't agree with USM becoming a branch campus of UVI in St. Maarten. USM should go back to basics and sign a working agreement just like they did in the past with Johnson & Wales University. Why UVI can’t be affiliated with USM or UVI and USM establishing a working relationship until the university finds a creative solution to get back on its feet. Johnson & Wales University had a good working relationship with USM in which they used to support the university financially with its educational programs.
Mr. Editor, I think we are getting away from the vision of why USM was established by the late Dr. Albert Claude Wathey and Ambassador Dr. Husang Ansary. I really think Government is not being creative enough to saving our university and needs to make USM a top priority as the highest learning institution on the island. The Minister of Education should put USM at the top of her to-do list before leaving office. What type of legacy are we leaving behind by giving away our highest learning institution that was established to educate our people? Where is the vision for tertiary education for our island?
Imagine Government prefers to increase the financial tuition for students going to study at UVI campus, instead of finding a way to increase the subsidy for our own university. Government is more interested in investing in other petty projects before election than their own university. Simply Amazing...
I would advise Government to sit back down in a meeting with USM’s Supervisory Board of Directors, and say we can give half of the funds with conditions instead of the three million guilders the university was initially requesting. Maybe even putting it as part of the recovery funding from the Dutch Government, instead of giving the university away to UVI.
Mr. Editor, Hurricane Irma really brought a lot of skeletons out the closet and this is the time when our elected representatives should lead and govern our island in trying times like now. Our people and students are hurting as most of them lost their homes and jobs. It is good to give out tokens of appreciation to teachers, but the survival of USM should be treated as the highest post-Irma emergency of our educational system, instead of handling it as any other subsidy request. We also have several teachers and staff out of work at USM. USM is the foundation of higher education on the island to educate, train and develop our people, and we are giving it away to a third party.
Mr. Editor, I understand this started before the Minister of Education’s time in which Government also had a representative on the Supervisory Board of USM, but what legacy are you leaving behind, seeing your national university closed in front of your eyes. What message are we sending to our next generation of students by giving away our local university instead of trying to save USM? What happened to the future plans and drawings of USM?
In closing, I pray to God that our Supervisory Board of Directors and our Minister of Education come together again to find a more a creative solution for saving our national university which has to play a key role in the public and private sectors of St. Maarten. USM has graduated 750 alumni so far who hold key positions in the public and private sectors of St. Maarten. USM is the future corner stone to educate our people to become future leaders within their community. Let us cut to the chase and set a time frame to get SOAB’s report done and continue to process the long overdue draft Tertiary Ordinance for the people of St. Maarten.
Saving our highest learning institution should be our number one priority; not giving it away to a third party. Education should be a top priority for any Government serving our people.
Maurice Lake
