May 06 - “We Won't Take Lessons From The GSD On Education" Says Licudi
The Minister for Education has reacted to the statement from Edwin Reyes by saying that the investment made in education over the past three and a half years “dwarfs the amounts ever spent by the GSD.”
Minister Licudi said: "When it comes to education we won't be taking any lessons from the GSD. Edwin Reyes should think before making these baseless attacks, which expose him and his party to ridicule. The first issue is that we have invested more in education than the GSD ever did. We have built two new schools in less than three and a half years. We have employed 47 new teachers and our plans for the future involve re-provisioning and refurbishing other schools including, but not limited to, Bishop Fitzgerald, Governor's Meadow and Bayside. We will also be unveiling great plans for St Martin's and other schools, as none will be forgotten by us as some were under the GSD - in particular St Bernard's which was the school that needed most urgent attention upon our election. What we will NOT do is commit the utter folly that the GSD have committed themselves to in their arguments for pooling both secondary comprehensive schools into a Mega School at Rooke: a plan that all educators consider to be complete madness.
“Secondly, for the very first time in Gibraltar's history we are investing in a facility for Higher Education in Gibraltar through the University, something which the GSD never did, whilst continuing our commitment to those of our people who want to study for degrees abroad, having added mandatory post-graduate provision also: another huge step forward! The work with the Washington Institute is also a huge bonus that is benefitting many of our young people and which the GSD just did not even think about.
“Thirdly, the extension of No6 is not about luxury, as it was when they added plush curtains and carpets for over a million pounds, but about dealing with rotting infrastructure, floor boards and a long standing termite infestation, as well as functionality and adding a large number of offices to release other government buildings. That is a wise investment that people will soon see makes a lot of sense."
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