 Mr Speaker, I rise in support of the motion to borrow US 6 million from the African Export-Import Bank to finance the construction of social infrastructure and other facilities damaged or destroyed by tropical storm breath under an education rehabilitation climate facility. Mr Speaker, before I delve into my presentation on the motion, I crave your indulgence and that of members of the House to express, something I should have done earlier this morning, to express get well wishes to Denver Edgar, a former student of mine, a friend, a constituent of Grand Reveal, who was involved in a motor vehicular accident a few days ago. He sustained injury, Mr Speaker, he is currently hospitalised and we are hopeful that he will make a full recovery. And I must say, Mr Speaker, with the consent of his family, the hospital has been in a position to apprise me daily on his progress. And as I said, I'm extremely confident that Denver will pull through and he will lead a very normal life in Grand Reveal and by extension the Mabuya Valley, so I wish him well. Mr Speaker, this motion is yet another demonstration of our government's commitment to the education of the nation's children. For a very long time now, Mr Speaker, principals, teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders in the education system have been clamouring for better conditions as it relates to school infrastructure. And whereas governments have tried over the years through various programmes, particularly those funded by the CDB, namely BUP, BIP, more recently EQUIP, which is the Education Quality Improvement Project, Mr Speaker, as we speak, there is a proposal being put together by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Department of Finance to submit to the CDB for funding to help us improve our education system. Mr Speaker, the government of St. Lucia has secured six million U.S. which translates roughly into 16 million EC to support the Ministry of Education to support its infrastructure rehabilitation programme. Over the past years, much of the annual budget for infrastructure works was directed to minor infrastructure repairs posing health and safety issues, including plumbing minor electrical repairs, mould replacing, mould sorry Mr Speaker, replacing termite infested ceilings, cupboard, furniture etc. Our budgets have not been able to facilitate major infrastructure rehabilitation. And with the average amount over the years of five million EC dollars, Mr Speaker, given the number of schools we have in this country, it has proven over time to be insufficient to meet the demands as far as school rehabilitation is concerned. As an island frequently impacted by severe weather events, many of our schools continue to be impacted year after year. And in very recent times, Mr Speaker, through the passage of tropical storm breath, a number of schools were impacted and we had to find monies overnight to begin the rehabilitation of the damaged buildings to give our children a safe environment within which to engage in learning exercises. This has been exacerbated, Mr Speaker, by a number of other factors. We have sea blast and we have the recent onset of sagasum, see with the engineers and technical people are telling us that the presence of sagasum in the base, Mr Speaker, that too is having an adverse impact on school infrastructure, particularly the electricals. Many of the wooden structures, Mr Speaker, compounded by age and aforementioned factors, have been deemed irreparable and they need total reconstruction. Other peripheral school infrastructures such as walls and fences continue to be impacted and need attention, especially considering the growing concern of school safety and security. Mr Speaker, the Philip J.P. led administration for the member for Cass Street East, his administration has been listening, Mr Speaker, and has been exploring sources of revenue slash finance to support our schools. Thus the US 6 million or EC 16.3 credit from the Afri Eximbank will go a long way in undertaking some of the major infrastructure reconstruction needed at our schools. Mr Speaker, 16 schools have been detailed in the document that informed this particular loan agreement. Mr Speaker, the upgrades will be undertaken using modern building codes and will utilize climate resilient and energy efficient technology. Mr Speaker, we need a lot more than 16 million to get our schools to where we want them to be. But in the context of what I have said and the presentation made by the Prime Minister in his preamble, Mr Speaker, this amount will go a very, very long way in ameliorating the conditions at some of the schools that I will mention in a short while. We have more than 100 schools in this country. I have visited Mr Speaker, all but seven schools ever since I became the Minister of Education. And I can tell you every single one of the 100 plus schools, including early childhood centers, need some form of work, some form of repair. But Mr Speaker, we have decided in the context of what is available to look at the more critical ones. Mr Speaker, those where we cannot afford to continue for much longer before an intervention was made. And the schools that were selected, Mr Speaker, were not selected because of where in the country they happened to be. But the Plants and Equipment Unit within the Ministry of Education, they were very deliberate and very objective in singling out some of the schools that they believe have the worst conditions and are in need of most repair. Mr Speaker, let me just mention a few of those schools. And I start with the Entribus Secondary School. The Entribus Secondary School, Mr Speaker, was constructed in 1972, long before I was even born, Mr Speaker. And the Entribus Secondary School was one of several junior secondary schools constructed in Senuja at the time. And from 1972 to today, Mr Speaker, every one of the junior secondary schools as we knew them, Mekud, Denri junior secondary, Korin, because we view for junior secondary at one time, Entribus etc., every single one has been upgraded, Mr Speaker, to a full-fledged senior secondary school. And with that upgrade came significant investments in the infrastructure at those schools. And to date, Mr Speaker, the Entribus Secondary School is the only secondary school where you still have remnants of the physical infrastructure that was first laid in 1972. So, Mr Speaker, when I visit the Entribus Secondary School and I engage with Mr Afer Scott, the hard-working principal. And he continues, Mr Speaker, to ask for interventions from the Ministry of Education. Mr Speaker, I can understand precisely what his fares are and why we should have made an intervention at that particular school. Mr Speaker, we will, at the Entribus Secondary School, be knocking down an existing block which poses a threat to students as well as staff, given that the building Mr Speaker has outlived its usefulness, having been constructed in 1972 and still serves a school with a population of almost 500 children. Mr Speaker, we will construct a three-story structure. I was in five classrooms, administrative offices, cafeteria, F&N lab, electricity lab, staff room, art room, sick base, etc. And the Prime Minister made the point earlier, Mr Deputy Speaker, when he said that we can no longer in 2023 mix concrete, mix cement and just put down a structure. You must subscribe to international building codes. And whatever investment we make in the school plant, it must, Mr Speaker, align with the language of climate resilience. So Mr Speaker, I am extremely pleased to report here today to this honorable house that the Entribus Secondary School will be rehabilitated to the tune of more than five million dollars. And I will say again, Mr Speaker, that this election was influenced by the team at Plantern Equipment after having made the assessment of that particular school. Mr Speaker, the Grand Riviera Secondary School in the constituency of Denver North is also down for rehabilitation. And this is one of several schools where timber structures are being replaced with concrete structures, the Grand Riviera Secondary School. And that school, Mr Speaker, is one of the schools aimed at as part of our TV transformation. I would have pronounced in this house previously and elsewhere that four of our traditional secondary schools will be repurposed to be TV specific institutions. There is timber annex at the Grand Riviera Secondary School, which is still might infested and every year in addition to having to procure materials to undergo rehabilitation and things of that sort. So Mr Speaker, we have to be spending thousands of dollars in pest control to treat the two might infested parts of that particular structure. It is not climate resilient and we believe it has outlived its usefulness at the Grand Riviera Secondary School. And so that particular annex will be knocked down and a new block will be constructed. This school is also down as part of TV, as I said Mr Speaker, and it will lead our TV program in the area of sustainable agriculture and culinary acts. Mr Speaker, the OJ Combined School has also been identified as one of the schools in need of serious rehabilitation. Mr Speaker will be spending an amount to undertake general repairs. That school has been in existence for many many many years Mr Speaker and the structure based on what I have observed and what has been communicated to me by parents and the technical team from the Ministry of Education. The school needs rehabilitation. This is one of our better performing schools in the south of the country Mr Speaker. The school has strong leadership and it is a school of choice when you see students who reside in other parts of the south. The parents Mr Speaker expressing their desire to have them enrolled at the OJ Combined School. And so the OJ Combined School is down for major repairs in this amount. Mr Speaker, the OJ Combined School also in the southern half of our country is down for rehabilitation. With an enrollment of just over 250 students, this is one of the schools nationally, not just in the southern belt, nationally that punches way above its width. This school is a model of consistency Mr Speaker. The school is extremely well led by a seasoned veteran educator in the person of Mrs Mooney. And I visited the OJ Combined School Mr Speaker all by myself to see first hand the conditions about which they have been complaining. And I can tell you Mr Speaker, if the decision was mine alone to make, this would have been the first school down for rehabilitation. Today I am happy to report to the Honourable House that the PIRU Combined School is down for a new block where Mr Speaker will have additional classrooms and some of the amenities we believe will help enhance the learning environment for the students in that particular catchment area. The member of the OJ with whom I have had several bilaterals is not here today but I am sure Mr Speaker he too will welcome news that the PIRU Combined School is down for rehabilitation where an entire new block will be constructed to replace the termite infested structure that currently exists in the PIRU community. Mr Speaker, more schools to be looked at we want to look at the reunion school in the constituency of Shwezel. And Mr Speaker that sits well with a point that was made earlier today if not during the presentation of this motion by the Honourable Prime Minister when he said that we do not look at the constituencies where work has to be done. We will always employ a doctrine of meritocracy and if it is that the schools that need repair must all emanate from constituencies being represented by the opposition will have no difficulty putting money in there to ensure we give the children of those constituencies the best possible educational experience our country can afford. So the head block Mr Speaker which is out of commission at the reunion school will be looked at with major roof rehabilitation. We have to do a total overhaul in Mr Speaker of the electrical fixtures at that school not to mention the plumbing issues and the other general matters of upkeep at the reunion school. So the principal, the staff, the students and I am sure the parliamentary rep for Shwezel will all welcome news that from the AFRI exam quantum of 16 million easy dollars being borrowed by the government the students and people of reunion Shwezel will benefit like their counterparts in other parts of the country where that money will be impacting. Mr Speaker I move to the plain view combined as I indicated I will not be mentioned in every single school but I have pulled out somewhere I believe the situation is dire and the situation is in need of urgent attention. The plain view combined school in view fourth is also down for some work Mr Speaker. Two blocks to be replaced but we can only undertake one at the moment. This is a very big school in the context of the numbers we see at our primary schools with an enrollment of just over 470 students. This school has performed well historically and Mr Speaker it continues to be a school of choice for parents in the south. I was there very recently with personnel from the Caribbean from the FISIS that is the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center where we executed a project with them for rainwater harvesting to sensitize the students to sustainable ways of living etc. So when I saw for myself Mr Speaker it really reinforced in my mind some of the reports that I had received and some of the complaints that had been put forward by the parliamentary rep as it relates to the condition of the school. The plain view combined school in view fourth. They have an issue with dust Mr Speaker and as I said the dilapidated wooden structure etc. All of this will soon be a thing of the past when we inject well over a million dollars for the construction of a new block at the plain view combined school. Mr Speaker the view fourth comprehensive secondary school is a very special school on the national landscape. They are also down for major rehabilitation and it is important that we give the view fourth comprehensive secondary school all the support that we can. Not just in terms of physical infrastructure upgrade Mr Speaker but we have to support their programs. Very recently our cabinet approved a recommendation from the Ministry of Education to have a second vice principal at the view fourth comprehensive secondary school. Every secondary school in this country operates with a principal and a vice principal. But a case was made by the Ministry of Education to the cabinet to give the view fourth comprehensive a second vice principal to share the administrative workload. And that has become necessary Mr Speaker because this is the only secondary school in the country where in addition to the CXC CSEC program they have taken on the CXC KIP or whatever one time we referred to as the A level program. So Mr Speaker we are fully aware of the efforts of the principal Mrs. Peter and her staff at this default comprehensive. And as I said they are down for major repairs work to be done Mr Speaker in the science lab the roof the science block six classrooms have to be rehabilitated. We have to look at the water issue the electrical issues at the school and this is a place Mr Speaker a campus if you like. Where on a daily basis you have in excess of 1000 persons students faculty and salary coming through the gates of the view fourth comprehensive school so that it continues to be to be the flagship learning institution in the south. It is a big school and soon from today I should be in a position to speak to the operationalization of the second vice principal who will be providing support to the existing leadership at the school. Very recently Mr Speaker I notice the deputy speaker has a smooth Mr Speaker almost an expression of satisfaction of the pronouncements on default comprehensive he himself being a former student of that institution. We will not delve into his performances in and out of classroom but Mr Speaker I think he has acquitted himself well and is proving to be a worthy ambassador of such a great school. In very recent times Mr Speaker a few days ago we would have been privy to the CAPE results or the CSE level equivalent and you would have noticed that the view fourth comprehensive secondary school registered more than impressive performances not just when compared to the counterparts locally but regionally. Mr Speaker regionally in accounts the view fourth comprehensive secondary school came first. Regionally Mr Speaker in entrepreneurship you need to the view fourth comprehensive secondary school placed through. And I'm talking regionally Mr Speaker not just the view fourth comprehensive being paid against the entry secondary or the St. Joseph's convent but regionally. The rumour comprehensive school in Trinidad or Kingston high in Jamaica but across the length and breadth of this Caribbean where hundreds of thousands of young persons would have taken the same exams. The students of view fourth have demonstrated once again that they are up to the mark and they can hold their own against the very best in this region. In the area of green energy and English literature Mr Speaker the view fourth comprehensive was amongst the top ten regionally as was the case in tourism, green engineering and those other programme areas. So Mr Speaker they are down for rehabilitation to complement the work that is doing and a school like that will always get the full support of the minister and by extension the cabinet of ministers so that they can continue to as we say in the cabinet of ministers press ahead and give the students a very good experience. Mr Speaker the last of the many schools that are down for rehabilitation it will be released of me not to mention the second comprehensive secondary school Mr Speaker for major works. As I said I am only singling out a few schools I do not have the time to go through the entire list of the schools that will be impacted but I must mention the Sufre comprehensive secondary school. Led by Miss Comby a very young and enthusiastic principal of course and with the support and encouragement of a very passionate parliamentary representative the prime minister has seen the need Mr Speaker to make resources available to the ministry of education to help with the rehabilitation of the Sufre comprehensive secondary school. Mr Speaker the roof at the Sufre comprehensive school needs a lot of work. There are sections of the Sufre comprehensive school where we have no windows and I will take the opportunity Mr Speaker to say not just to the students of the Sufre comprehensive but the students our secondary school students in particular across the length and breadth of the country. Secondary school students are not toddlers. Secondary school students are not kindergarteners. Secondary school students are of an age Mr Speaker where they have understanding and where they must appreciate that they cannot vandalize the structure. I expect in the following term or year for the government to find resources to come and repair the damages. I have said to the principals I have said to the district education officers and on occasions would have had to speak with students I have said to them Mr Speaker that if they are found vandalizing school properties. Not only will they and their parents have to raise the money to replace the damage infrastructure but Mr Speaker they will be punished in ways that will cause them to respect and appreciate the efforts that the government is making. Mr Speaker this injection of 16 odd million is designed to help enhance the learning environment of students and schools across the length and breadth of the country. And to improve the quality and effectiveness of schools. But we know quality infrastructure is only one component of an effective school system or an effective education system. And with your indulgence Mr Speaker I will profit the opportunity to outline or remind this Honourable House of some of the interventions we are making in the breadth spectrum of education to give our children an experience that will prepare them for life not only in St Lucia but beyond the shores of our country. Infrastructure alone is not enough and as I said there is more to quality schools and quality education than the physical structures that house our teachers and our students. Mr Speaker some of the programs being rolled out and that have been complimented by this injection of money to rehabilitate the school plan include the one laptop per child program. We have reinstated the one laptop per child program Mr Speaker. And as we speak today every single child in the secondary school system of St Lucia. Whether he is at the Beaufort Comprehensive he is at the Patricia D James Secondary he is at the SDA Academy or he is at the Boca Secondary or the Clinton Mason Secondary or the Johnny Jordan Secondary. Every single child in our secondary school system today has a laptop computer that complements the government of St Lucia Labour Party. And Mr Speaker I remember when we came in and we found a program with e-books frapped with all kinds of issues. And Mr Speaker at first days lunch Mr Deputy Speaker of the e-content you will hear from the technical staff themselves. The previous government had contracted an Indian company to provide them with what was known at the time as e-books. And this is what happened with the e-books Mr Speaker. The professionals from beyond the shores of St Lucia came into this country sat with our teachers and our professionals, engaged them in conversation, took all the submissions of our teachers and they went and they packaged it and they presented it to our government at an astronomical amount. And Mr Speaker do you know that for every device and every child the government of St Lucia every year had to be paying license. And it means Mr Speaker that millions of dollars, millions being repatriated out of this country to a foreign company. Mr Speaker we did not waste time to hold that program. And we did not just take a position because politicians had spoken out against something which they believe was not in keeping with their own party philosophies. But we were instructed, we were encouraged and I have the submissions from all the senior technical people of the Ministry of Education in my inbox. But I will not throw my staff under the bus and tell you who said what. But the staff was adamant that this initiative with the e-books did not come from the Ministry of Education. But instead it was imposed on them notwithstanding the shortcomings of that program that they would have identified prior to its introduction. You have animations in the content of accents that are foreign to our children. And they can't understand all the content. I'm not the one saying it. This is the report that I got from the technical staff. But I can tell you since we shelved it Mr Speaker, not only have we saved millions of dollars that would have left this country in the form of license fees. But we have developed content and Mr Speaker I must place on the record my appreciation and my gratitude to the staff of Camdo for having embarked on a content development project. And on Thursday, all of the members have been invited to be with us for a demonstration. And I'm sure anybody in attendance Mr Speaker will be full of praise for the work that has been done by the curriculum. Mr Speaker, I happen to reach the waterfront on a particular morning roughly a month and a half, two months ago. And I noticed boxes and boxes of what appeared to be books were being placed right downstairs on the ground floor of the NIC building. And I asked one of the junior staff at the ministry, what do you have there? Where are you all going with this? Those are ebooks, not ebooks, but learn books that the previous administration had procured that are of no use. They cannot be repaired and that they will own their way to dig low to dump those devices. I immediately put a halt to that operation. And I said to them Mr Speaker, just to be cautious so that somebody wouldn't say that a little party government is vindictive and we record and we throw in devices that were procured by the previous administration. I ordered, I instructed. And it's not often that I flex ministerial muscle but on that day I instructed that devices were taken back upstairs on the food floor where they had been. Yes, they still did. I had the communications unit to take still shots and to take video clips Mr Speaker of all of what was a mark for disposal. I wanted to make sure that in keeping with the procurement rules and asset disposal rules of government that somebody had signed off to say. A competent authority that boos devices of no use to the children of this country. They are still there Mr Speaker, we have use for them. Not necessarily for use in the classroom but I'm sure those devices will be used to substantiate the claims. It is one thing for us to come into the honourable house as politicians, as parliamentarians and to have our exchanges. But there are certain things I defer to the staff or I concede to the staff to pronounce an answer especially when I know it is a highly contentious political issue. Mr Speaker, our students will have uploaded on their devices content developed by our own people. Content that is culturally relevant. Content developed by people who understand the accent and whose accents they understand. Content that where examples are used, those examples are within the experiential background of the children Mr Speaker. So that there will be no ambiguity when it comes to the learning exercise. And that is what we meant when we said we were going to reinstate the one laptop per child programme. And very significantly the savings that we've been able to make by developing our own content. Some of it is being channeled Mr Speaker or redirected to help bolster our higher education programme. Mr Speaker, our government continues to pay facilities fees for every single child in the primary and secondary public school system. And Mr Speaker, you should see the expression of relief from the parents when they come to the constituency office. And if it is that some persons in here are comfortable referring to parents who are having difficulty making ends meet as mendicants, that is them. I represent a role constituency Mr Speaker. I know what it is like for parents not being able to buy a pound of fish when they hear the sound of that horn as the van goes through the community. I know first then Mr Speaker what it is like when you are not able to buy a loaf of bread to ensure that tomorrow morning at five and six o'clock you can wake up and give your children breakfast Mr Speaker. So that when the government takes a decision to waive facilities fees for these children, Mr Speaker, I know what the dollar circulation can do particularly in the rural pockets. So those who want to criticise can criticise it. But I can tell you this particular intervention by our administration has found favour particularly those persons whose circumstances in life are not Mr Speaker as bright as they would want it to be. Ours is still the government that is paying CXC, CSEC, Mathematics and English fees for our students in the secondary school system. And the prime minister is on the record Mr Speaker saying that it is Mr Deputy Speaker that during this time of government he is hoping that he will be in a position where he will pay off mathematics and English and free other subjects for the children of our country. Mr Speaker we do so because we understand the plight of ordinary people. Mr Speaker we do so because we place a premium on education. Mr Speaker we do so because we are the genuine champions of poor people. We are not cosmetic as it relates to advancing the plight of poor people. And Mr Speaker again we are reducing that financial burden on the parents who otherwise cannot be for themselves. Mr Speaker there are scores hundreds of parents, thousands of parents in this country. When you sit and you engage them in conversation they will tell you about their own educational circumstances and how because their parents were poor notwithstanding they had the ability they could not have gone any further than just enrolling at school because it was mandatory. No premium, no value was placed on education at the level of the family and in some communities. And I have said here before that I remember as a child growing up attending the Larisos primary school in the Mabuya Valley. When officials from the Ministry of Education visited the Larisos school and the other schools that were in the Denrenoff area. There was this very unsavory label that was ascribed to the schools, schools within the banana belt. And once you heard that the school was from the banana belt you expected nothing good to come out of it in terms of academic performance. But today Mr Speaker we have children from the Denry basin who are in the top ten of the CPE which we knew as common engines. We have come a long way but education is a continuum it is a journey that never ends. And so at every step of that with the support of the Prime Minister Mr Speaker the Ministry of Education will continue to discharge its duties and responsibilities to the families and children of our country. Mr Speaker we understand that in order for students to thrive that the physical environment must be conducive and we have spoken about that here today. The Prime Minister in presenting the motion did so likewise my colleague from Kastry South East and I touched on it briefly. But for students to do well in an environment that is pristine and conducive you need teachers to be comfortable and teachers to be happy. Mr Speaker I have said to teachers before that we entered teaching at a time when it was a vocation and it is still a vocation. A vocation is something you undertake you join you become a part of where money is not the main consideration for becoming a part of it. But as a conviction and as a calling that you have that would influence you to be part of that movement and teaching Mr Speaker is a vocation. I talk for more than a decade at both the primary and secondary levels and I can tell you Mr Speaker a teacher's role is more than just imparting content and facilitating learning and lesson delivery in a classroom. Today's teacher in addition to being a traditional teacher you must be a counselor you must be a parent you must provide spiritual guidance and there's so much more you've been called up on to do. Particularly as the challenges in society evolve so too must the rule of the teachers. And what have we done Mr Speaker as a token of appreciation to the teachers of this country the prime minister without hesitation. He found the resources to increase what in the education we call the TMA the teaching materials allowance by $600. So that teachers teachers who received the TMA in the months of August and those who were temporarily in the month temporary Mr Speaker in the month of September also took whom $1400 TMA. I've said it before and I will quit here today Mr Speaker when teachers travel particularly to the United States of America on a vocation. Mr Speaker within the first two weeks of landing on the US mainland half of the suitcases Mr Speaker and perhaps maybe an entire suitcase would have been filled already with materials and aids to enhance the learning environment in the classrooms that they be returning to after the vocation period is over. And so Mr Speaker I must place on the record once again our governments gratitude to the teachers of this country and to fund the SLTU Mr Speaker for working with the government. We have not always been on the same page Mr Speaker but we understand that the SLTU is an indispensable ally in this quest to give our children the best possible educational experience our country can afford. There will be differences of opinion on certain matters but we have never as an administration seen the SLTU as an adversary but instead we have seen a very enthusiastic and at times passionate group of individuals giving expression to the plight of their membership and so our administration we stand ready to work with the SLTU to improve working conditions and to ensure that at every opportunity their input would continue to influence policy for our government. Mr Speaker we have a pre-K program Mr Deputy Speaker in our schools and pre-K basically speaks to students coming into the formal school system before the age of five. Mr Speaker as we know it historically a child enters the formal school system at five but we have excess space at a number of our primary schools because the population, the enrollment has dropped nationally significantly because the solutions Mr Speaker are not procreating at the rate that they were known to have in times gone. I know that it is not applicable to everybody in this chamber particularly those to my immediate right Mr Speaker but that not we have studied Mr Speaker the pre-K program is an important program for us in the Ministry of Education. So at schools where we have excess space we convert some of the classroom space into the little centers within the school environment to bring in the pre-K. They are not part of the main school program and they have the separate programs Mr Speaker but that is how we begin to introduce them into the broader spectrum of school life at an early age. So far Mr Speaker we have rolled out our pre-K program at six schools namely the Sufra infant school Mr Speaker I was able to see for myself the conditions are very very impressive and I am hoping that as we continue to provide support to the pre-K program in Sufra working closely with the OECS that on occasions when the Ministry of Education isn't able to pick up the slack we can rely on a very healthy and reliable Sufra foundation to help in that regard. Mr Speaker not too far from Sufra we go to the constituency of Shwazel. At Moghuj perhaps the best pre-K setup I have seen in the country although my staff and I we are always on a different wavelength for this concept. The setup at Moghuj Mr Speaker is also very very impressive and there is a very healthy pre-K program at the Moghuj school. Moghuj primary school also has a pre-K program. Moghuj is in the constituency of Castries East and it wouldn't surprise me if the inclusion of Moghuj on this program is news to the Prime Minister and if anybody might be inclined to believe that the Prime Minister's influence was what caused Moghuj to be on the list Mr Speaker to know. Again we employed the meritocracy, we did our research and we know that there are some communities where the early childhood services are not as robust as we want them to be so once there is space within a particular catchment area after primary school we will look to have the pre-K program pick up the slack that the normal early childhood services cannot deal with. Rackwamengo is also Mr Speaker part of our early childhood pre-K program as is January infant school and the rule bloat. So these are the six schools that are currently enjoying or benefiting from the pre-K program. It is very instructive to note that there is none from January north Mr Speaker because again we have employed a meritocracy that informed the selection of those schools. The program will be expanded and I'm hoping that the next time I speak on pre-K perhaps at budget I can speak to the inclusion of a lot more schools across the length and breadth of this country. Mr Speaker one of the flagship areas of programming for the Ministry of Education is our higher education mandate. We believe Mr Speaker that we can or it is realizable and attainable to have one university graduate per household in this country and we have spent no effort Mr Speaker to go out there in a very aggressive way to source the scholarship and the higher educational opportunities for young Saint Lucians. Mr Speaker very recently for the first time this administration we rolled out a program known as the UNIPASS and the UNIPASS is a program that was specifically designed for Saint Lucians who want to access university. The government Mr Speaker and I must thank the honourable prime minister who is the chief custodian of the public post for making half a million dollars available for the UNIPASS where average young Saint Lucians who have started programs but somewhere along the way they have found themselves in difficulties that they cannot get out of. The government is saying to them through the UNIPASS we have a facility where we can give a grant the maximum of which is $10,000 to help them complete programs. In some cases some of them just need the staff Mr Speaker they also qualify. We have entered into several programs with Monroe College as a country but I have studied here and the prime minister did say at the function that I attended with him that we have a responsibility to the University of the West Indies. We cannot continue to work with Monroe at the expense of the UWI. We will work with Monroe. We will explore every opportunity to work collaboratively with Monroe College but it should never be at the expense or to the detriment of the University of the West Indies. Mr Speaker I have no difficulty placing on the record that our government we have a responsibility to UWI University of the West Indies. Mr Speaker we have rolled out the first generation scholarship program first generation. You have to be the first from your family to enroll at university. Too many young Saint Lucians Mr Speaker have become victims of the society because of the socio-economic background. Too many young Saint Lucians demonstrated from kindergarten up to grade 6 that they were the best in the class. They demonstrated at the common entrance exam now the CPE that they were the best in the class. They transitioned to some of the best secondary schools from one to from five. They demonstrated that they were still the best but once they had exited the doors of that secondary school their parents had no land, there was no property to mortgage, there was nothing to help secure loans for higher education and some of them had to languish and they had to sit by and watch people whom they had dominated from kindergarten All the way to post secondary they had to sit by and watch people since excel because the socio-economic circumstances allowed them to secure monies at banks and rates that their parents could have afforded to become the professionals they wanted to be. Our government has taken a decisive step to correct that wrong. So today Mr Speaker, when you go to Monroe College, when we have 100 first generation students being financed by the government in collaboration with Monroe College I invite you to do your background check. What parts of the country are they from? What is the story of their families and their parents? And today Mr Speaker, they can take their rightful places at university and dream and leave that dream of becoming the professionals that they want to be. Mr Speaker, in addition to the first generation scholarship program, we have another scholarship program with Monroe College which we found we inherited when we came in where Monroe College was providing 17 scholarships to young solutions, three full scholarships and 14 partial scholarships. Mr Speaker, because we have been able to allow so many programs and we've had that conversation with the nation as it relates to higher education the young people of St Lucia are coming forward in droves Mr Speaker to want to access. For the 17 scholarships that are on offer to begin in the month of January for the 17 Mr Speaker, to date we have received in excess of 144 applications. Mr Speaker, and the hardest part of this for me, 15 minutes left. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. And Mr Speaker, what is most disconcerting about all of this is when you have 130 applicants and I'm certain that out of the 140 applicants a good 115 or more they qualify and they meet the entry requirements but Mr Speaker, the Minister of Finance, I know given the passion that he has for education I'm sure in the ensuing budget will again let his creativity come to the fore and devise a mechanism that will cause us to increase the number of solutions whom we are facilitating. Mr Speaker, we have had increased numbers going to Taiwan. We have seen an increase in the number of students going to Hungary on scholarship and Mr Speaker, very recently a cohort left for Morocco. I must place on the parliamentary record our government's appreciation for a gentleman who is of Grenadian parentage but resides in the U.S. in the position of Randy Glyn for the fantastic work he has been doing with Sir Arthur Lewis Community College and the government of St Lucia and some other governments within the OECS in finding the scholarships and finding the schools in North America with which our governments and our flagship tertiary institutions can collaborate to provide opportunities for our young people. Mr Speaker, we are not only catering for the marginalized and gross persons who socioeconomic circumstances are not favorable. We are also saying to those in society who are capable of buttering their own brain that they too will not be left out. Our government, this Prime Minister, Minister of Finance has made an arrangement with the St Lucia Development Bank to secure, Mr Speaker, 10 million EC dollars as a credit facility for St Lucia who want to pay their way to university. So Mr Speaker, this is just a snippet of what is happening in education. We will continue to hold those programs. I don't want to make pronouncements in terms of what is coming in the ensuing year. I will leave that for the Prime Minister's appropriation bill address, Mr Speaker and some of the plans that will be unveiled in the near. But today Mr Speaker, I am extremely delighted and extremely pleased to be the minister responsible for education at a time when the government is saying that we have to continue investing in education. Mr Speaker, we did not just embrace a mantra on the campaign trail because we believe it would have resonated with people but we have demonstrated in every government department, in every agency and statutory entity that we believe putting people first is something practical. Today we are putting the children of St Lucia first. Today we are putting the teachers of St Lucia first. Today we are putting the principles of this country first and today Mr Speaker, with a loan of 16 million easy to rehabilitate schools we are putting the people of St Lucia first. Mr Speaker, it will be remiss of me to take my seat and not express my gratitude as minister and that of the entire government to the many persons who work in the education sector to help rule out the programs. I want to thank the Parliamentary Secretary for working with me the Honourable Senator Dr Pauline Antoine Prosper. I want to thank the Permanent Secretary Miss Michelle Charles, the Deputy Permanent Secretary Mr Kendall Kodra, the newly appointed Chief Education Officer Miss Beverly Diodoni and all the other heads of departments Mr Speaker in the ministry. I want to thank the National Principles Association Mr Speaker for their support and again I will say we have not always been on the same page as it relates to the issues but one thing I can assure you is that when we have our exchanges the enthusiasm and the passion that informs the discussion is one that is born out of concern for the children of St Lucia. I believe Mr Speaker that we still as a country we continue to be a rich repository of academic talent that has been proven for decades not just locally and regionally but St Lucia has put some of the best men and women and the best international professionals out there for the benefit of mankind. I know we can continue Mr Speaker and we have to invest in our children to ensure and as I said we do not prepare them for life only in St Lucia but so that they can become global citizens taking the rightful places in whatever part of the globe they decide to reside. Mr Speaker we must say we do not have a new Minister of Social Justice who will serve him in the finance which will give him the money we have couldn't make that money this is for pr America 16 million dollars which will make it a main cause of education so that he can make that money so that he can teach you so that he can do things so that you know that will teach you so that he can teach you so that he can help support so that he can do things so that he can help so that he can help We will ensure quality workmanship in the construction period. It will not be a case where we will just hand contracts to people. Contractors will not be selected based on political affiliation. But instead, contractors will be people who have proven over time that they have the requisite skills and experience to undertake the projects in the various magnitudes that will inform how we move forward. So Mr. Speaker, once again I want to thank the Honorable Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance for making the resources available. And I can give him the most solemn of assurances that under my stewardship and leadership, the Ministry of Education will endeavor to make the best use of that money thereby enhancing the learning environment for children whose dreams and aspirations we are committed to facilitating whilst we hold the reins of government. Thank you Mr. Speaker.