Beersheba Old Students Association (BOSA) is delighted to inform you all that victory has been obtained on behalf of Shanisa Jones, grade 10 C student at Saint Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), Santa Cruz, Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica, West Indies whom the administration at Beersheba Primary School (Government Leased), New Market, Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica, West Indies has victimized and denied benefits from James Richards Educational Trust Fund although Bermuda Trust Company Limited – former Trustee of the Fund – declared Shanisa a qualified beneficiary. This matter which has been outstanding since September 2009 when Beersheba Old Students Association (BOSA) has been the sole safety net for Shanisa Jones, has finally been put to rest with a directive from the Ministry of Education to the School Board at Beersheba Primary School (Government Leased) that Shanisa’s inescapable school expenses must be paid.
Beersheba Old Students Association (BOSA) wishes to place on record its sincere gratitude to those of you who have been a tower of strength to the Association during this ordeal. Since “leopards do not change their spots overnight,” BOSA must not sit on its laurels and be complacent. Conversely, the Association must continue its vision to work assiduously in the interest and welfare of all students who currently attend Beersheba Primary School (Government Leased) as well as those who have graduated from the school and are currently attending High Schools in saint Elizabeth where the Ministry of Education has placed them on the basis of their academic performance in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT)
Shanisa’s victory though long in coming, reminds the Association’s Secretary/Treasurer of wise words that his wise old grandmother taught that is entrenched indelibly in his subliminal consciousness and has been the “muse and wind beneath his wings” during this ordeal: “PUT A RABBIT PON A SCALE, IM NEBBA WEIGH MORE DAN IM FOUR QUARTERS.
I am very pleased with the directive given by the Ministry of Education to the Principal of Beersheba Primary regarding the retroactive payment of school fees to Shanisa Jones. How can an Educator denied such help to a deserving student. This child from a poor farming community is well qualified for the funds. Shame! Shame! Shame! Thanks to BOSA secretary/treasurer persistence and hard work it seems Shanisa will finally get her school fees paid. Great Work BOSA. (sh)
“This is great news BOSA and the next step in the process now should be to have a new Principal in place for the school whose primary interest and focus is going to be the students and parents in the vicinity of the school and nothing else.”ec