Government Information Service

On Thursday, 20th November, 2008, Senator Sonia Williams was officially sworn in as the new Minister for Education, Human Resource Development, Sports and Youth Affairs in the Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit led administration. Her appointment comes on the heels of a recent announcement by Prime Minister Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit of a Cabinet reshuffle.

The new Education Minister will assume the roles of outgoing Education Minister, Hon. Vince Henderson who has been assigned the role of Minister for Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Labour. In an interview following the official swearing, the Education Minister expressed optimism as she prepares to take on her new role. Hon. Williams said thanks to the Hon. Prime Minister for entrusting her with this portfolio.

“I know it is a challenge but the task is not insurmountable. I have been in education for more than two thirds of my life and I am aware that Human Resource Development, Sports and Youth Affairs are just components of the whole education process. I want to thank the Prime Minister for placing that level of responsibility in me. I will always put especially the young people first whose lives hinge on a very sound education.”

Hon. Williams’s first order of business will be to meet with staff within the ministry to decide on a way forward.

“I think I need to meet with the people who are very important to me, the technical staff, the Permanent Secretary and others who are directly involved in planning and administration to look at where we have been and where we intend to go. I do not want to impose my thinking on anybody but I believe that education is very important, too important to be left to chance.”

Hon. Williams went on to say that one of her pet projects will be to work on ensuring that the concept of Universal Secondary Education works to the benefit of all students, especially those that more skill inclined. She admitted that not all students who enter secondary school are academics and while emphasis will still be placed on the core subjects, she intends to take a good look at introducing some skills that can harness the creative talents of the students enabling them to provide for themselves later on.