The Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce supports Education Minister the Hon. Julianna O’Connor-Connolly’s recent call for the allocation of additional resources to the public education system and confirms its commitment to work with the Minister and school officials to improve the public education system.

“Improving public education is a top priority for the business community. Success at school often leads to success at work and we must ensure that that adequate resources are being devoted to both teachers and students to help improve literacy and numeracy skills, particularly at the primary school level. The Minister’s passionate statement aligns with the Chamber’s focus on improvements to the education system,” says President Kyle Broadhurst.

“Attracting and retaining the best teachers in the classroom should be at the core of any public education reform. Compensation, workplace conditions and open communication between teachers in the classroom and the policy makers need to align so that everyone in the system work together to achieve success. The Minister’s call to review teachers’ compensation should be supported since obtaining and retaining strong teachers is critical.

Education is the Chamber’s top item on our advocacy agenda. We have held several meetings with Ministry officials, school administrators and teachers at all levels of the education system. We will be establishing a committee that will include business leaders, educators and Ministry officials to focus specifically on identifying and implementing improvements to the current system. We are excited by the Ministers statement and we look forward to working with her moving forward” he said.