BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The government of Anguilla is a step closer in the realisation of the objectives of its Education Development Plan, following the release of the third grant assistance tranche of EC$12.66 million (€4.25M) under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) education and training sector policy support programme.
The disbursement comes on the heels of a recent mission to Anguilla by EU head of delegation, ambassador Daniela Tramacere, who commended the Anguillan authorities on the continued progress in the implementation of its Education policy despite the lingering challenges resulting from the damage inflicted by hurricane Irma in 2017.
During the mission, ambassador Tramacere visited three Education Facilities – the Morris Vanterpool Primary School, the Orealia Kelly Primary School, and the Valley Primary School – and witnessed first-hand the devastating impact hurricane Irma had on the physical infrastructure of these schools. In some cases, a number of the school blocks had to be demolished or completely refurbished, leading to classes having to be accommodated in the remaining blocks or at alternate facilities.
The ambassador applauded both the Education officials and the strong community spirit which has ensured that despite the physical constraints of the current teaching and learning environment so severely compromised, there remains an unwavering commitment and positive attitude to moving forward and bringing the situation back to some form of normalcy in the near future. She also expressed satisfaction in the Government as it continues to show positive progress and commitment towards prudent Public Financial Management (PFM) and good budgetary transparency reforms.
The overall expected outcome of the education reform is for all children to be able to complete seven years of quality primary education and five years of an appropriate, quality secondary education, regardless of any physical or intellectual disabilities.
The EU reaffirms its strong belief that supporting education is a solid development investment and is confident that this programme will contribute to the reconstruction of a quality educational system in Anguilla that will be accessible, efficient, cost-effective, affordable and – very important – also resilient.
The EU has provided development aid to Anguilla since 1976. The overall programme budget for the current 11th EDF intervention is approximately EC$45 million (€14.05M) until 2021, with EC$40 million (€12.6M) earmarked for the education and training sector as budget support, and the remainder EC$4.5 million (€1.45M) set aside for specific technical assistance needs.
Anguilla also benefits from EU assistance channelled through the current EDF Caribbean regional programmes that amount to approximately EUR58M.
