The Bethesda Primary School is set to be transformed into a Technical and Vocational Educational and Training (TVET) centre that will mainly focus on agricultural science, according to a decision made by the Cabinet on Wednesday.
According to yesterday’s Cabinet notes, the decision was taken in 2015 to close the school as student numbers had dwindled to just 29. At the time the institution had 35 teachers and administrators.
As a TVET centre, it will essentially become an extension of the Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Continuing Education (ABICE), and the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Lionel Hurst said the hope is to have the building reopened as soon as possible, ideally by September.
“There are some activists in Bethesda who wish to see the school reopened or the building being put to use, rather than just being shuttered, and so, we are eager to get it done.
“Certainly, if by September, it can be done, it will be done. The object, though, as you can imagine, is to ensure that those who are interested in studying agricultural sciences … make use of their new knowledge in developing new techniques and new systems for generating food and ensuring greater food security in Antigua and Barbuda,” Hurst said.
Historically, the Bethesda Primary School was known to be the first school in the British West Indies that catered to the children of enslaved people. It was opened prior to Emancipation in 1834.
The village of Bethesda was also named after the school, which is currently in ruins.