GREAT BAY--โ๐๐ณ. ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ, ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ด, ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ."
With that nugget, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Melissa Gumbs has pushed back against criticism surrounding the Ministryโs policy on donations to public schools, making clear that private citizens and Members of Parliament are not prohibited from supporting schools, but that all donations and contributions must follow a proper procedure.
The Minister addressed the issue during the 2026 Budget Debate following questions and criticism regarding the requirement for persons, including MPs, to coordinate donations with the Ministry before they are provided to public schools.
Gumbs said the policy has never been about preventing assistance to schools, but about ensuring that donations are properly coordinated, aligned with actual needs and handled in an accountable manner.
โMr. Chairman, much like our teachers who have to patiently repeat everything to children developing their listening comprehension skills, I donโt mind repeating the following: it is not that private citizens, including MPs, are not allowed to make donations to public schools,โ Gumbs stated.
โIโve never said โitโs my school, so yea;โ for that type of attitude, I suggest the good MP checks with my predecessor, who was in his party at the time. What I have said, is that donations and contributions to public schools must follow a procedure.โ
The Minister said she has repeated this position several times in Parliament and through the media, emphasizing that the Ministry has welcomed cooperation with private organizations and individuals.
She pointed to collaborations over the past year and a half with organizations including Rotary International, the Rise Foundation, Lions Club, Flow, Telem, Kooyman, Sea Grapes International and other private citizens as examples of successful partnerships.
Gumbs noted that these collaborations demonstrate that the Ministry is open to outside support when it is properly coordinated.
โToday though, I have not received a donation or collaboration request from the good MP or the rest of his colleagues, with the exception of MPs York, Roseburg, and Peterson and my own colleagues in the Council of Ministers,โ she said.
The Minister encouraged Members of Parliament and other potential donors who wish to assist public schools to submit their requests through the proper channels.
โFor the future, my email address is melissa.gumbs@sintmaartengov.org, so I look forward to receiving these donation requests that the MP is so passionate about making,โ Gumbs stated.
She also offered to provide Members of Parliament with information on pending works and needs across public schools, allowing assistance to be directed toward areas where support is most urgently required.
โAdditionally, we can provide him and the other members of Parliament with the amounts of pending works across all public schools, if that would make it easier,โ the Minister said.
The discussion on donations followed concerns raised about the condition of some school facilities and the role that private partners can play in supporting improvements.
Gumbs has maintained that the Ministry welcomes collaboration, but that a structured process is necessary to ensure transparency, accountability and that interventions support broader school improvement priorities.
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