Minister of Education Ronald Jones today denied that Alexandra principal Jeff Broomes is his bosom buddy or that his friendship with the embattled headmaster got in the way of him dealing with problems at the St Peter school.
In fact, Jones said he did what he was supposed to do and the inspection report – which it has been alleged sat on his desk for several months – was passed on to the chief education officer who was the one responsible for taking action.
A fired up Jones defended himself as Parliament debated a resolution to put $847 636 from the Consolidated Fund – $598 000 of which will be used to cover the expenses of the ongoing Commission of Inquiry into the management and administration of the Alexandra School – at the disposal of Government.
Dismissing suggestions from St Michael North East Member of Parliament Mia Mottley that no action was taken at the school because the two men, former colleagues in the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), were “bosom buddies”, the former teacher said only his parents, now deceased, and his siblings could fall into that category.
“Anybody who believes that they can consider themselves my bosom buddies, they are absolutely wrong. I choose my friends, my friends don’t choose me . . . I left the BUT in September of 1995 as president, Broomes was vice president . . . we worked together in defence of rights of teachers and if that makes you bosom friends and bosom pals, I plead guilty,” he added.
Jones, who has previously been silent on allegations that he took no action after receiving the inspection report in April 2011, sought to clear his name.
Full story in tomorrow’s MIDWEEK NATION
