It is a good feeling that, apart from a few related matters that came up in the Anguilla House of Assembly on Tuesday this week, Government and Opposition were united in passing the Community College Bill. Indeed, it ought to be a non-controversial issue when any country comes up with an innovative and workable plan to establish a higher and broader level of education for its citizenry as part of its social development objectives and the forward movement of its people.

The development of education in Anguilla has been incremental over the years starting historically with the early work of the Methodist and Anglican Churches and the eventual involvement of government then provided from St. Kitts. Since the establishment of secondary education in Anguilla, in 1953, there has been little effort to develop other institutions of higher learning on the island. But emphasis was placed on the provision of better primary schools by successive Governments through British aid, and more recently with the assistance of developers. Private pre-schools and primary schools by churches and individuals have also sprung up. However, there have been strides in higher education such as adult and continuing education programmes and tertiary offered through the Education Department and by the University Centre of the West Indies respectively, as well as through curriculum development particularly at the Comprehensive School where Sixth Form students now write external examinations leading to Associate degrees.

The steps towards the establishment of a National Community College began a few years ago and with a pilot unit now firmly in place, and already affiliated with regional and international institutions, the foundation has been laid for a higher and broader scope of education on the island. There have already been some 725 entries in a variety of short-term programmes in the hospitality division of the college unit with 450 certificates awarded. The aim is eventually to have a Community College to meet the island’s needs for a variety of qualified vocational and technical skills in a full range of subjects with local tutors providing the instruction.

It makes a whole lot of sense for Government to acquire the Cinnamon Reef Hotel at Little Harbour and to develop it as major part of the Community College as far as it relates to hospitality training in particular, thus also “killing two birds with one shot” by transferring the land and the buildings from foreign to public ownership. Another benefit is that apart from being used as a training institution, the property will also serve as a tourism project as well. The planned development of the Factory Shell and the surrounding land at The Long Path, in The Farrington, is another suitable site for some of the technical vocation skills to be offered by the Community College.

In commending the Government for embarking on this institution, one must also offer thanks to Mrs. Dawn Reid who, as Project Officer, and along with her support team including Bernice Edwards, Sharon Richardson and a Shadow Board, have done much to set the Community College Development Unit in motion and so far to have already made a notable mark in education in Anguilla. It is to be noted that Dawn’s mother, Mrs. Dulcie Richardson, a highly successful Anguillian educator, was the first Principal of the St. Kitts Teachers’ College, a position she held for many years. Dawn’s mother’s shoes are certainly not too big for her to walk in for some distance.
The Chief Minister said during the debate on the Community College Bill that the property at Little Harbour was being auctioned by the National Bank of Anguilla and that there had been offers from eleven million to eighteen million US dollars. This is quite a large sum and if Government can find the money for the acquisition of the property for the Community College, it can only be a project that gives Anguillians a great sense of national pride in education.

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