maybe due to extreme poverty.In the 1980s

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A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government will restore the annual subvention to the Critchlow Labour College located on Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.Former MP, Trevor WilliamsThis was revealed yesterday by President David Granger as he addressed the Eleventh Parliament.The President said that Government has an obligation, over the next five years to fulfil the aspirations of “our founding fathers.”He said that the new government seeks first and foremost to eliminate extreme poverty.“Our Poverty Reduction Plan will adopt a ‘One Nation’ approach, reducing inequalities, removing obstacles to education…We shall introduce social policies that will harness and develop the creative energies of our people, and that will support the holistic development of our women and youth,” said Granger.Granger added, “Government will revise relevant labour legislation to support all legally constituted and functioning trade unions to enable them to better represent the needs of workers.  We shall towards this end, give effect to the Motion passed in the 10th Parliament to restore the annual subvention to the Critchlow Labour College.”Almost a decade after Government stopped the annual subvention to Critchlow Labour College; the way was paved, during the life of the Tenth Parliament, for the assistance to resume.This was after an Opposition-piloted motion, in an intense debate, was passed in the National Assembly.The institution has been struggling since 2004 when the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic administration pulled the assistance, more than $30M annually, claiming that the college has to get its accounts in order.The respected tertiary education facility had then fallen on hard times, at one time closing for several months because of the cash situation. The restoration of the subvention would spell good news for its fortunes.The motion for the restoration of the funds was tabled by former Member of Parliament, Trevor Williams, of the Alliance For Change (AFC), himself a former student.Many young people who attended the college are now productive members of society. The college guides its students to a stage where they can successfully sit Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC). It caters mostly for those who need a second chance—those who dropped out of secondary school for one reason or the other, and those who maybe hadn’t a chance at secondary education, maybe due to extreme poverty.In the 1980s, the college was acknowledged as the busiest labour institution in the Caribbean.‘Critchlow Labour College’, named after ‘Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow,’ was established over 40 years ago. (Abena Rockcliffe)