The Community College (Amendment) Act, 2021, which was passed in the Anguilla House of Assembly after a prolonged debate, but which was opposed by the Opposition Members, was a matter of discussion outside the House on Monday, March 15.
The legislation was a main topic of discussion on Just the Facts, a weekly programme on Radio Anguilla. The presenters were the Leader of the Opposition, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, and her colleague, Mr. Evans Rogers.
“I was really concerned when the Bill, called the Anguilla Community College (Amendment) Act, came to the House of Assembly last week Tuesday, March 9,” Mrs. Richardson-Hodge said. “It was passed because, obviously, the Government of Anguilla has the majority in the House, notwithstanding the fact that the Opposition’s side opposed the implementation of the provisions.
“The reason why you [Mr. Rogers] and I would have had concerns, with respect to the Community College ‘closing’, is that on the 15th of September, 2020, the APM Government had a-state-of-the-country address. That, as many people would recall, was when they were at the Campus B Auditorium and there were a whole host of presentations that were made. One of those was by the Education Minister, Ms. Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers, and I actually took the time to write down what she said during that presentation. And she said: ‘The Anguilla Community College receive a subvention in excess of EC three million dollars per annum; and the figures presented indicate that there will have to be a very serious contemplation of the sustainability of this institution in the current circumstances…’”
Mrs. Richardson-Hodge, a former Minister of Education, said certain impressions had been given to the public and that many persons had contacted her about the matter saying – they were concerned about “the sustainability/ability of the Community College to continue to remain.”
She further stated: “I think that would have triggered alarm for those persons that have an interest in making sure that the Community College remains. And so, when this Bill, the amendment, came to the House of Assembly, it would have only further created the impression that the intent of this Government is to undo the Community College. [This] is because of the statement, ‘serious contemplation of the sustainability of this institution in the current circumstances.’”
The Leader of the Opposition continued: “I did make the statement that sometimes we need to understand that when we come to the House we understand the impact [about what we bring before it]. The first important section [of the legislation] is that, instead of requiring that the Community College has a President, Dean of Studies, Director of Finance, even Lecturers and Tutors, the law was changed that, instead of saying ‘shall have’, it says ‘may have’…What that does is that it starts to cut away at the structure that creates the Community College. These are all key positions and there are only seven positions, but they are important positions that set the foundation for the Community College.
“Do you know about any community college in the world that does not have a president? That does not have a director of finance or lecturers and tutors? It doesn’t make any sense. I understood the Minister of Education when she stood up in response and said that they are concerned about the fiscal responsibility – meaning the monies – the cost of running the Community College – and that’s fine. And so, because of that you are trying to have greater control over how the expenses are dealt with and you want greater accountability. That’s fine. But you don’t sacrifice the structure of the institution because, at the end of the day, that is the structure you need if you want to obtain certification…”
Commenting on what Minister Kentish-Rogers reportedly said about the subvention for the Community College, Mr. Rogers stated: “Three million EC dollars, in these times, given the COVID-19 virus, the suppression of the economy and so forth, it is a significant sum but, relatively speaking, it is absolutely nothing per se as an investment in education. Whether it is three million or five million dollars, we can understand that. There is a need for checks and balances in accounts, and tweaking here and there, but it shouldn’t be regarded as a sacrifice because it is for the development of our people and our country.”
He added: “As a result of that we really and truly shouldn’t look at that outside the cost of education because, as someone once said, ‘if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”’
