Minister ECYS Gumbs clarifies DPE reform as “transformation,” and not privatization

GREAT BAY--Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Melissa Gumbs on Tuesday provided clarity on the ongoing reform of the Division of Public Education (DPE), emphasizing that the initiative is a long-running “transformation” process intended to improve agility and service delivery in public education, and not a privatization of public schools.

Minister Gumbs said the initiative was previously branded in public discourse as “privatization,” a characterization she rejected, noting that privatizing public education would be contradictory. After becoming minister and reviewing documentation and meeting with those guiding the process, she said it is clear the project is a transformation designed to improve governance and execution while keeping public education within government.

The Minister said the topic has surfaced repeatedly in Parliament over several years, and that she herself raised questions about it while serving as a Member of Parliament. She noted that current parliamentary interest continues, and confirmed she recently received written questions from MP Egbert Doran, to which her ministry will provide a written response. The Minister said she intends to also make her response available publicly so residents can read it directly.

Minister Gumbs explained that the formal origins of the process date back to September 2016, when the Council of Ministers, acting in line with constitutional and national order stipulations governing the establishment and organization of St. Maarten’s government and the organizational structure of the Ministry of Education, decided, at the request of then Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Silveria Jacobs, to establish a temporary interdepartmental committee. That committee was tasked with conducting a thorough review of public education after ongoing challenges within the division became evident.

The Minister described many of the challenges as bureaucratic, limiting the system’s ability to respond quickly, even for basic operational needs. She illustrated the issue by noting that repairs such as fixing a broken toilet at a public school can require the same prolonged procurement route as larger projects, resulting in avoidable delays.

She said the initiative was temporarily halted in 2020, and later restarted by her immediate predecessor, with the goal of reorganizing DPE and strengthening public education as a whole. She added that the timeline was also impacted by major disruptions such as Hurricane Irma and the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said the reform is intended to transition DPE into a more structured and slightly more independent administrative body, while remaining under the ministry’s oversight and control. The objective, she explained, is to make the system more agile and lean so it can address long-standing operational challenges, improve responsiveness, and better support schools.

The Minister added that funding remains controlled and managed, and that the reform is meant to improve implementation capacity, including structured and emergency maintenance and repair, execution of projects, and broader areas such as training and development for teachers. She also referenced the importance of an implementation plan to guide the process.

Minister Gumbs said the transformation remains a priority under her leadership now that she has a fuller picture of the process. She indicated that stakeholder consultations will be part of the way forward, including engagement around a change manager to support implementation. While she said updates are not expected weekly, she intends to provide periodic public updates, potentially on a monthly basis, as the transformation progresses, but reiterated her commitment to transparency within the limits of rules, regulations, and required confidentiality.

Minister Gumbs concluded by stating that the transformation is “desperately needed,” and urged a focus on moving forward rather than politicizing the issue. She said the goal is to ensure all parties are protected and respected, while improving the quality of public education so that students receive the standard of education they deserve.

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