Prime Minister Gaston Browne is proposing that students take an active role in maintaining public facilities, arguing that schools should integrate community service into everyday learning as a means of building practical life skills.
According to Antigua.news, Browne floated the idea during his weekend radio programme, suggesting that students attending schools near the newly constructed Potters Sports Complex could assist in maintaining various aspects of the facility.
"There's no reason why the students… can't maintain the pool," the Prime Minister said, adding that hands-on experience would prepare young people for careers in pool maintenance, landscaping, and grounds management. "By learning those skills early… they can then transition as adults into pool maintenance."
Browne also called on schools to establish nurseries for growing ornamental plants to be used in public spaces across the country. "Every single school should have a plant nursery," he said. "They should also produce some ornamental plants to beautify their respective schools."
The Prime Minister questioned the need to rely on paid contractors for work that students could perform through structured programmes. "Why should we pay anybody to do the landscaping there?" he asked.
The proposal forms part of a broader vision to blend academic education with practical skill-building while cultivating a stronger sense of civic responsibility among the nation's youth.
