Ian Joseph, community activist and Public Relations Officer for the Bethesda/ Christian Hill community group expressed his hope that the government will consult with the community as plans were announced to transform the old Bethesda Primary school into a technical learning centre.
The Cabinet last week announced a decision to turn the closed institution into a facility with a focus on agricultural science.
The school had been closed since 2015 as the student population had dwindled to just 29 while at the time, the institution had 35 teachers and administrators.
But acting on the advice of activists, the government has sought to reopen the institution, hoping to essentially make it an extension of the Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Continuing Education (ABICE).
“It’s good news to hear that they are planning to reopen the plant because that’s what we’re asking for, we’re asking for the plant to be recommissioned for something in education.
“But we are not clear about what this agriculture is about, so I think the best way forward and what we’re looking for is some form of consultation with the people of the community as [we] are very interested in whatever will happen with that plant,” Joseph said.
The Bethesda Primary School was known to be the first school in the British West Indies that catered to the children of enslaved people, opening prior to Emancipation in 1834.
