NEGRIL, Westmoreland — Minister of Education, Youth and Information Senator Ruel Reid is imploring the Sandals hotel chain and other North Coast hotels to partner with the Ministry of Education to assist with its school feeding and school bus programmes.

He made the request last Wednesday at the official opening ceremony of the new West End Infant School, constructed through a $111-million project of the Sandals Foundation, in partnership with the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund.

“You are in the hospitality business and the tourism sector is concentrated on the North Coast; from Negril Point to Portland … many hotels. You are providing meals for your guests — breakfast, lunch and dinner. So I am saying Adam (Adam Stewart, Chairman of the Sandals Foundation) that we have to sit down and work out how we are gonna partner to add some value to that investment that I have,” Senator Reid appealed. “Because remember that you said you will match me at least one-to-one or closely as possible. So all I am saying chairman and regional director, is that we can map out, and notice I am not saying to Sandals alone I am talking about the hotels, on the North Coast that are in proximity to each school. I say let’s partner to see how we can add to the feeding programme.”

Reid pointed to the existence of a huge gap between the ideal $8-billion annual budget required for lunch alone in the school feeding programme for primary and secondary schools.

“Last year we were able to push it up to $4.7-billion, that is what we have on the table to ensure that all our children in primary and secondary schools can get five meals for the week each day they attend school,” he pointed out.

The education minister wants a top level meeting between himself, Stewart, Director for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s Western Regional Office, Dr Michelle Pinnock and other hoteliers to forge the partnership.

“I look forward after today for us to set up a high level meeting with CEO, Mr Adam Stewart and the Sandals family and when we are meeting I believe you have connection Adam, with some of the other foundations that I know you have. So let’s sit with them Doc (Dr Michele Pinnock) and we discuss how we can get greater support,” Senator Reid urged, insisting that “the reward for good work is more work.”

He bemoaned that even with free education, “on average 20 per cent of all our children are absent from our school daily”, due mainly to socio-economical constraints.

“Either some parents want their children to stay home and some to assist in fishing or farming etc, or some of them simply can’t afford the bus fare to send their children to school,” Senator Reid suggested.

“They are getting free education — no barriers, no mandatory school fees anymore in primary — but they are still not able to get to school because the Government has not yet invested in a national school bus system. So I am going to … and I am not saying Sandals must do it alone.”