GREAT BAY, St. Maarten (Saturday, August 11, 2012) -Minister responsible for Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs, the Hon. Silveria Jacobs mentioned during Wednesdays Council of Ministers press briefing that her Ministry were getting complaints from teachers, subsidized school boards and the unions in regards to the Cost Of Living Adjustments

(COLA) payments that haven’t been paid out as yet. However, she said that the monies are made available it’s just a matter of the new salary scales to be calculated. Preparations for the 2012-2013 school year which will commence officially on Monday, August 13, is well on its way informed Minister Jacobs. She said that school managers were appointed, process for maintenance and cleaning of the schools are ongoing.

The Minister also informed that the St. Maarten Student Support Services (S4) in the Netherlands still doesn’t have a director.. She went on to say that despite the situation, the board has taken the initiative in handling the financial part of the office. Minister Jacobs was also asked if persons were finally appointed in the capacity to support the students on Curacao and Tallahassee and she responded by stating that those appointments weren’t finalized as yet however, the students are receiving guidance and mentoring via their schools.

Minister Jacobs also said that her working visit to the Netherlands was a very fruitful one and went on to outline her visit with the SBO schools where information was exchanged on how to build up our own program on the island as well as improving the language of the students prior to them furthering the studies abroad.