Philipsburg– The National Decree on the School Subsidy System was published on the Government Information Page of Monday, June 3, 2019. An allowance of seven weeks is provided for the ordinance to be reviewed by the Office of the Ombudsman before enactment. With the publication of the Lbham, the ordinance will go into enforcement on July 4, 2019, ahead of the opening of the new school year 2019/2020.
The publication of the
‘Landsbesluit, houdende algemene maatregelen tot vaststelling van een
bekostigingssysteem voor het onderwijs en regels inzake de procedure tot
indiening en behandeling van aanvragen voor bekostiging’ (Landsbestuur bekostiging
onderwijs) was signed on Wednesday, May 29, 2019. This procedure followed the signing of the national
decree by the Governor of Sint Maarten on May 22, 2019.
Minister Wycliffe Smith expressed his congratulations and thanks to the team that
made it possible. In his statement, the honourable Minister said, “Let me
extend congratulations to the team of the Department of Education who worked
with great motivation, tirelessly and enthusiastically over the last couple of
years to complete the National Decree containing general measures with regard
to the funding of education. I am extremely proud of each one of you and the
sacrifices that you made towards the finalization of this legislation.
A great thank you goes out to all of you and also to my predecessors who
started and continued the process, which I am fortunate to have been able to
finalize. We hope that with the piece of legislation we will have a better grip
on the financing of the schools. Once again thank you very much!”
All school boards were
consulted regarding the drafting of the contents of the National Decree for the
funding of education. With the establishment of this decree, the school boards
will have a transparent set of guidelines regarding the subsidy process, from
beginning to end. The National Decree for the Funding of Education will put in
place criteria for the funding of educational institutions at the primary,
secondary and advanced vocational education levels.
Present at the signing of the publication of the LB ham
are (from left to right in photo) Ruth Linger, Senior Education Specialist in
the Cabinet of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Jessica
Weeks, Senior Policy Officer Department of Education and Bas van den Bosch,
Acting Head Legal Affairs and Legislation (Juridische Zaken & Wetgeving).
