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Padarath: Spiritual Baptist Must Continue The Struggle, Build Their Secondary School
Posted On 29 Mar 2017
Princes Town MP Barry Padarath acknowledged the significant contribution that the Spiritual Baptist community has and continues to make towards our national development on the eve of Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day 2017.
Padarath noted that the Spiritual Baptist community endured tremendous difficulties, hardships and persecution for identifying with their faith, but never gave up the fight to protect their beliefs and convictions.
He stated that history would record that the struggle for equality before the law and national recognition was not the fullstop in the plight of the Spiritual Baptist Community. Instead he noted that they clamoured and made a joyful noise to ensure that they had their own schools for their children. Padarath noted that it was the People’s Partnership government, under the leadership of then Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar, who built an early childhood centre and a primary school for the Spiritual Baptist community.
Today, the Princes Town MP is calling on the government and the Minister of Education to build the secondary school for the Spiritual Baptist community, which they have requested.
Padarath stated that the data in the education sector was showing that denominational schools were doing better than the government schools and that the government should be anxious to partner with the Spiritual Baptist Community for a secondary school.
He also called on members of the Spiritual Baptist community to continue the struggle to empower the lives of their children and future generations through education, where they could pass on their values and their teachings.
Padarath lamented that the People’s Partnership went out of office before they could have built the secondary school for the Spiritual Baptist community but indicated that they had laid the foundation for them with the primary and early childhood centre and would support moves to have their secondary school built.
The Princes Town MP said that while the Spiritual Baptist community has much to celebrate, the best way that they could continue to promote and preserve their faith was through their efforts in educating their members in their own schools, as several other denominations have done here in Trinidad and Tobago.
