Dominica government initiates construction of Mahaut Primary School

The government of Dominica initiated the construction of the Mahaut Primary School, which was severely damaged during Hurricane Maria in 2017. Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit, Minister Rayburn Blackmoore, Octavia Alfred, Reginald Austrie and other Cabinet members attended the construction ceremony held on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit stated that the Dominica Labour Party-led government continue to invest heavily in the education sector.

PM said in earlier days when he was the Minister of Education Dominica, only 7% of high-school graduates had access to college in the country because of lack of space in the colleges. He said the government used pragmatic and strategic ways to transform the landscape of education in the country. Now, the colleges have the total capacity of taking every high-school graduate in the country. [caption id="attachment_35401" align="aligncenter" width="493"] Graphical structure of Mahaut Primary School[/caption]

"In 2002, I said to the Cabinet, give me five years, and I will make 100% access to Secondary Education in Dominica, in 2005 we achieved it, two years in advance," stated Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.

Prime Minister stated that his government built the Dominica State College in just 24-months. He said for overseas study of the students, the government expanded the budget from 1 million to 6 million in even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, over 23 million were paid off.

He said to make education more accessible to all; the government provides free transportation to secondary school students. At the same time, uniform, textbook and other items are also given for free to secondary and primary school students.

[caption id="attachment_35403" align="alignleft" width="1258"] Minister of National Security Rayburn Blackmoore during the Mahaut Primary School construction ceremony on 16 June 2021.[/caption] Minister of National Security and parliament representative from Mahaut Constituency Rayburn Blackmoore stated that the government kept all the promises made in the manifesto, including the construction of hurricane shelter, climate-resilient homes in Jimmit, playing fields, new roads and also the construction of Mahaut Primary School. Minister Blackmoore stated that he is looking forward to the completion of the Mahaut Primary School. [caption id="attachment_35402" align="alignright" width="1506"] Minister of Education Octavia Alfred during the Mahaut Primary School construction ceremony on 16 June 2021.[/caption] Minister of education Octavia Alfred stated that the government overcame all the challenges, and the construction of the Mahaut Primary School have been initiated. She noted that the school had long been a demand of people of Mahaut after Hurricane Maria caused devastation in 2017.