Regrello: Open prestige schools to all

San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello has called for more equity in the placement of students at prestige secondary schools.

Addressing the prize-giving and awards function at Presentation College, San Fernando’s auditorium on Friday, he observed that owing to the school’s “meteoric academic rise to scholastic excellence” in the 1960s, the “upper echelons of society” had flocked to the school’s doors, “holding with them the expectations of a sound education for the privileged few who did not make it.”

“Privilege must not be used to your advantage. Therefore, this system must be stopped and replaced by one that combines equity and equality,” he said adding that systemic change was required to “dismantle the established norms of oppression that define the lives of others from birth.

“And if I was the principal…what would I do? I would negotiate with the Catholic Board that of the 20 per cent SEA intake allocated to us, ten per cent would be reserved for the privileged….and ten per cent for the principal, which would allow me to seek children in the wider community with academic skills and deserving of a chance.”

He also wondered whether the sheltered life at Presentation College had prepared the young men for the “real world,” saying students, on graduating, were expected to fit into an “unforgiving society.”

“But have no fear, you have done well. However, your legacy is an ongoing process. It will grow with each new experience, with each previously untested idea and bold ideas that you are courageous enough to deploy.

To date, your legacy has been defined by generations of outstanding students and committed parents in their quest to make Presentation College an outstanding education institution and the number one choice for any 11-year-old boy,” he said.

“The education you now possess is a central element to economic recovery across the board. You all have the capacity and influence to fundamentally change our society for the better.”

However, his admonition was met with a gentle rebuke from Justice Anthony Lucky who recalled that he was not of the privileged few, but had often arrived for school drenched in sweat after running from his home in San Fernando to the school.

In those days, he said, his lunch often consisted of two sapodillas, while the only air-conditioning he knew was the natural breeze from the San Fernando Hill.

School supervisor Alan Ramdeen also took umbrage at Regrello’s words, saying students should not allow anyone to question how the legacy of Presentation College had been built.