PRESIDENT OF THE CLEMENT PAYNE MOVEMENT David Comissiong is not in agreement with the decision to close all public and private secondary schools today because of “a little rain”.
The Ministry of Education closed schools today after persistent overnight and early morning rains led to flooding and thunderstorms in some areas.
In a statement to the media, Comissiong said the decision by the Ministry of Education was doing a disservice to the youth of the nation and indicated Government did not know what it was doing.
“The students and youth of virtually every economically successful country in the world routinely attend school in the depth of winter and in the midst of almost freezing rain and snow. And it is these hardy young people that our Barbadian youth will be required to compete against when they mature into adulthood in our globally inter-connected world,” he wrote.
“Surely any sensible Barbados Government should understand that it must be committed to producing a tough, enterprising, resilient and hardy people who are capable of contending with the several severe economic and environmental challenges that the future will bring.”
The attorney-at-law and coordinator of the University of Independence Square also questioned the message it was sending to children.
“What message is our Government sending to our children when it tells them that the appropriate response to the challenge and inconvenience of a little rain is to shut up shop and remain at home?
“How is this counter-productive response to rainy weather preparing our young people to deal with the next Hurricane Janet, the next economic crisis, the next outbreak of infectious disease, the next political or social crisis? How is it helping to produce a disciplined, resilient, dependable work force that will inspire confidence in local and foreign business investors?”
Expressing the hope that it was the last time such an incident occurred, Comissiong said those charged with the nation-building were “retarding the development of our youth”. (PR/SAT)
