Dismay at St George’s Prep over sudden end to admissions
The staff of an East End school were not warned or consulted after the Government decided this would be their final year of enrolment.
St George’s Preparatory School’s parent-teacher association said the group was notified of the decision to stop Primary 1 enrolments in several schools just two weeks before registration for the 2024-25 school year.
A PTA spokesman added that the presentation announcing this lacked “essential details and clarity”, while the school’s principal was not offered any support from the ministry in delivering this message.
The association also invited anyone with concerns regarding the education reform plan to speak out during the next sitting of the House of Assembly on Friday.
A PTA spokesman said: “Our school has always been a place of growth, learning and welcoming to the St George’s community, and we believe it should remain a cornerstone for our children’s development until the new parish primary site has been completed.”
The move follows the Ministry of Education’s announcement of its plans to turn East End Primary School into a parish primary school in its sweeping education reform.
The PTA said that it was aware of the impending closure after East End Primary School was selected as the new parish school of St George’s.
A spokesman said, however, that there had been an understanding with the Ministry of Education that enrolment would continue until the full transition of pupils to the new school.
He said that advocacy against a sudden transition had been going on since April for the sake of safety and minimal disruption.
The spokesman explained that the PTA was concerned about having children in “an environment that will be under construction”.
He said that the PTA sent a set of questions to Diallo Rabain, the Minister of Education, as well as Lisa Smith-Clarke, the permanent secretary, that laid out their concerns.
According to the spokesman, Mr Rabain responded by extending the enrolment deadline to December 6 and agreeing to meet with the PTA at a yet-to-be-determined date.
In a letter sent to Ms Smith-Clarke, the PTA questioned what legislation, if any, needed to be passed before making any changes for the 2025-26 school year.
It questioned what collaborative work had been done ahead of the decision, or what communication had been given to parents regarding this change.
The PTA further demanded clarity on the decision-making process and the transfer process to move students to the new parish schools.
It questioned how many students were projected to attend the eastern parish school and where the Government planned to find space for them.
A government spokeswoman said this morning that the education ministry had received the concerns raised by the PTA.
She added: “We can confirm that contact has been made with the PTA, and arrangements are being finalised to meet with them later this week."
• UPDATE: this article has been updated to include a comment from the Government
• To see the full list of questions, see Related Media
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