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PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Education Rita Bourne Gumbs told Members of Parliament on Monday afternoon that her hands are tied while her lips have to remain sealed until Wednesday since she has a meeting scheduled with the board members of NIPA. The National Alliance Faction of Parliament called the Minister of Education to Parliament in an urgent meeting to get further information on what is happening at NIPA.Minister Bourne Gumbs told Parliament that it is not ethical for her to divulge information to the public prior to sharing the Ministry’s decision on how they intend to move forward with NIPA. Several Members of Parliament asked the Minister for an update on the NIPA saga ranging from decisions taken by the Ministry and dropouts and if the board complied with the requests of the Minister.Minister Bourne-Gumbs said that she could tell parliament that the situation at NIPA has worsened even though she sent several letters and held meetings with the NIPA board. The Minister said she even called on two members of the board to resign since they did not have the time needed to properly manage the school and at least one of the members did honor her request. The Minister was very vocal on the amount of power given to boards which she said has tied government hands. MP Maurice Lake, MP Silveria Jacobs, MP Leona Marlin, MP Christopher Emmanuel all expressed dissatisfaction during Monday’s meeting on the situation at NIPA. MP Frans Richardson requested that the meeting be adjourned since the Minister was not able to provide answers to Parliament due to the meeting she has scheduled for Wednesday. While MP Richardson made the request no other Member of Parliament second his proposal which prompted some Members of Parliament to walk out of the meeting leaving the chair with no other option but to adjourn the meeting due to a lack of quorum.
