The board of Saba’s only school has received a directive from State Secretary of Education, Mariëlle Paul, to take immediate action to rectify existing issues. Paul asserts that the new administration, including the director of Sacred Heart School, has not sufficiently addressed the mismanagement previously identified by the Inspectorate of Education.

Paul has demanded that the board submit a concrete plan within four weeks outlining steps to strengthen its governance. This plan must include the appointment of three new, qualified board members within four months, clear evidence of support from advisors, and revisions to the school’s articles of association to ensure compliance with current laws and regulations. This directive was personally delivered to the board members by officials from Paul’s office on Tuesday and reviewed with the Executive Council.

Internal ministry documents suggest that the closure of Sacred Heart School is being considered. “In anticipation of possible outcomes from the directive, several scenarios were explored should the primary school need to close. Establishing a new school appears to be the most sustainable option, though it is a lengthy process. Additionally, current regulations require a legal amendment to allow the foundation of a new school due to the foundation standard. These are considered last-resort measures,” officials wrote to Paul.

The State Secretary wrote this letter to the Members of the Second Chamber:

With this letter, I inform the Members of the Second Chamber about the instruction that I imposed on the Catholic Education Saba Foundation (hereinafter: SkoSaba), the competent authority of the Sacred Heart School (hereinafter: SHS) on Saba, on October 29, 2024. Earlier, I informed your Chamber on 11 September last. informed about the developments at the only primary school on Saba.

Good education is essential for the students on Saba. The fact that there is only one primary school on Saba underlines the importance of a high-quality school, as students have no other option. For this reason, the board must work urgently to restore the quality of education and financial mismanagement within the foundation.

Background of the school and the problems

On 1 July 2024, the Inspectorate of Education (hereinafter: the Inspectorate) published the quality report on the quality of education at primary school. In this report, the Inspectorate found that the school scored insufficiently on all aspects of the Inspectorate’s supervision. On 6 August 2024, published on 26 August 2024, the Inspectorate also adopted the report that accompanies the specific investigation into administrative actions by the competent authority of the SHS. This report shows that there has been maladministration on the part of the board of SkoSaba. This mismanagement consists of both serious or prolonged failure to take measures necessary to ensure the quality and proper progress of education, as well as financial mismanagement.

On the basis of these findings, the board was appointed on 2 October. informed of my intention to give an instruction to the competent authority of the SHS.

At the beginning of this school year, the Public Entity appointed a quartermaster on Saba to support education on the island with the necessary improvements. Two new members have joined the board to make the necessary changes. The former board members resigned on 4 October.

After taking office, the current board members, in collaboration with the quartermaster, drew up a plan of action at foundation level with improvement goals for the school and the board. In this plan, a start has been made on formulating goals in the areas of governance, financial continuity, educational science, safety and a system of quality assurance. I received this plan on October 16th.

On the 15th of October. I have also received the views of the board. The opinion specifies the actions that are being taken to improve the quality of governance and education at the school. Although the current board has started to form plans to improve the quality of education and the power of governance, I see this as only a first step. In addition, I have no guarantee that the plans will be implemented. In addition, the plans are not very concrete and lack to be translated into practice, which means that the effect of the plans on quality remains uncertain. I am also concerned about the lack of sufficient board members.

The directive

The above has led me to decide to impose an instruction on the competent authority of the SHS. The designation is the heaviest legal instrument I have at my disposal. The designation includes a number of measures to be taken by the competent authority and, in my opinion, highly necessary. The implementation of the measures should put an end to the maladministration that exists.

Broadly speaking, the measures included in the designation are as follows. The board of SkoSaba must:

•  Share a plan within four weeks of the date of the designation describing with concrete process steps how the board will be strengthened within four months;
• Appoint three new suitable board members within four months of the date of the appointment;
• Be visibly supported by advisors; and
• Ensure that the articles of association align with current laws and regulations.

I hope that the competent authority will implement the measures in the Designation in a timely and proper manner to restore the quality of education and eliminate maladministration. After all, that is in the interest of the students on Saba.

The State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science,

MarieIle Paul

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