A declining population continues to be a major concern for the government with Prime Minister Mia Mottley disclosing that there has also been a significant decline in the number of children entering school over the past twenty years.
As a result Miss Mottley believes they may need to consolidate primary school children into a smaller number of schools as the number of children may no longer justify maintaining the almost seventy primary schools that Barbados currently has.
Miss Mottley made the disclosure during St. John speaks, the latest in government’s series of town hall community public briefings.
She was responding to a question from Gall Hill resident Rosalind White about the closure of the St. John Primary School.
Miss Mottley explained that given the declining school population and especially the significant reduction in children attending school in St. John it might be better to redistribute the students of St. John Primary to other schools.
She pointed out that, for example, Mount Tabor Primary has room for another one hundred students.
Miss Mottley says it’s clear that the current St. John Primary School building can no longer be used and a new school needs to be built.
At the same time there has to be rationalization of the number of schools in St. John.
Miss Mottley also announced plans for a major school renovation program.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley.
