This week I would like to talk a bit about the legal framework of the education system in Anguilla, as provided for by the Education Act.

Education in Anguilla has come a long way in recent years. However, there is still a very long way to go, especially in terms of the availability of opportunities for education beyond the secondary level. When I attended university in the late 80’s and early 90’s, there was literally just a handful of Anguillian students attending tertiary institutions in the Caribbean and elsewhere. Today, it does my heart proud to see the large number of Anguillian students at universities all over the world. A university education is becoming the norm rather than the exception.

However, the cost factor still makes tertiary education impossible for many. As a result, too many brilliant minds are still falling by the wayside. It is my hope that Government will continue to make education a top priority, and will allocate funds and identify scholarships to enable as many young people as possible to realise their dreams. We must never forget that a developing country’s greatest asset is an educated populace. The goal must be to put an affordable tertiary education within the grasp of every Anguillian who wants to pursue it.

The Education Act
Under the Act the Minister of Education is responsible for the overall administration of the education system, but in practice these responsibilities are undertaken by the Chief Education Officer on a day-to-day basis. The Chief Education Officer can in turn delegate functions to other public officers. The Act provides for the establishment of an Education Advisory Board which advises the Minister on matters connected with education as it thinks fit.

Categories of Schools
The system of public education is divided into primary and secondary education. Provided he can find the resources, the Minister has the power to add also pre-primary education, special education (in respect of either gifted students or students with physical, emotional or learning disabilities), tertiary education and adult education.
The Act recognises three categories of schools. Public schools are schools which are wholly or mainly maintained at public expense and to which the general public has access. Private schools are educational institutions owned, financed and managed by individuals, religious bodies or any incorporated or unincorporated body. Assisted private schools are private schools that receive public funds for maintenance or extensions, furniture or equipment or salaries of the principal or teachers.

Management of Schools
All public primary and secondary schools are under the control of the Minister. The Act provides that each of the former is to be managed by a Board of Management and the latter ( presently only the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School) by a Governing Board.
Private schools are required to be registered with the Chief Education Officer who is also entitled to visit and inspect them to ensure that they are up to the standards required by the Act. Non-compliance can result in cancellation of registration. Assisted private schools are also to be managed by a Board of Management.

Admission and Attendance
A person is of compulsory school age if he is between five and seventeen years. Education in public schools is free for such persons. A child can be admitted to a primary school if he has reached five years or will reach five years by 31st December of that same year. A child who has reached the age of twelve can be admitted to secondary school, although a child with exceptional ability may be admitted at an earlier age.
The parent of a child is under a duty to ensure that a child attends a school unless there is a good excuse. Excuses are specified in the Act and include where the child is receiving satisfactory instruction at home or elsewhere, or if the child suffers from physical or mental disability that makes him incapable of being educated by ordinary methods. The Act makes it possible for Education Welfare Officers to be appointed for various districts to ensure that all children of school age in those districts attend school.

Discipline
Public schools have the power to introduce rules in respect if discipline. When it comes to corporal punishment, this should only be administered where no other punishment is considered suitable or effective, and then only by the Principal, Deputy Principal or any other teacher appointed by the Principal. Any punishment must not be degrading or injurious.
Students may be suspended for up to two weeks for gross misconduct which is considered a risk or danger to the members of staff or to other students. Students whose attendance is likely to have an adverse effect upon the good order and proper discipline of the school may also be suspended. Students can be expelled in extreme cases.

Offences
The Act creates a number of criminal offences. For example, the selling of alcoholic beverages or tobacco on school premises, employing a school child during the school year (with some exceptions) and allowing a school child to loiter on premises where alcohol is sold are all punishable by fines, as well as imprisonment in some cases. Loitering or trespassing on school premises, creating a disturbance on school premises or destroying school property give rise to a fine or imprisonment.

Alex Richardson is Managing Partner of the law firm Alex Richardson & Associates, P O Box 371, The Babrow Building, The Valley, Anguilla, Tel: 264 498 4224, Fax: 264 498 4220, email: arichardson@anguillanet.com. He is also Managing Director of Paragon Corporate Services Ltd.

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