MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Education absorbs 25% of the Falklands budget; students are funded to study in UK universities

MLA Jan Cheek, a family with seven generations in the Islands and proud of the Falklands

Education is one of those intangible values that demand a huge percentage of the Falkland Islands budget, close to 25%, according to Jan Cheek, member of the elected Legislative Assembly and head of the education portfolio.

“Our budget is 42 million pounds (67.1 million dollars) and 25% of that is invested in education” MLA Check told the news agency Xinhua representative sent to the Falklands to report on the Islands 30 years on from the South Atlantic conflict.

MLA Check for twenty years was an English language teacher at the local school and now is retired.

She belongs to a family with seven generations in the Falklands and is critical of President Cristina Fernandez claims over the Islands.

“The president has a rhetoric which is offensive for us because she insists in the claim and that means Argentina wants us to become a colony of theirs”.

MLA Cheek said that the high school program includes English, maths, science (biology, physics and chemistry) Spanish, art, music besides geography and history.

“Yes the 1982 conflict between the UK and Argentina is taught both in the junior and senior schools. In Junior, children prepare brief essays asking their parents and grandparents on events of thirty years ago”, said MLA Cheek.

At the senior school it’s more in depth since it includes the history of the Falklands.

School is mandatory from 5 to 16 years of age; those wishing to continue their studies in the UK, to higher schooling or university are totally funded by the government of the Falklands.

Most of children attend schooling in Stanley although there are also two camp schools, with travelling teachers or modern communications for further tutoring.

“Our forefathers arrived in the Falklands looking for a better future, as happened in Argentina with millions of European immigrants. We believe in our country and we are very proud of our Islands”, said MLA Cheek.

From this side, “Argentina wants to convert us into a colony, which is how we see the situation. Nevertheless we are grateful to the claims because this generates a great interest in world media and that is how we can get through our side of the store”.

“Yes, we would love to collaborate with our neighbours in Argentina, as happens with Chile, Brazil and Uruguay, but Argentina dropped out of the common interest agreements we had in fisheries and oil exploration. Since the arrival of an oil rig to the Falklands the Argentine rhetoric changed”, points out Cheek.

“It is quite undisputed that we have been in these Islands for generations and we want to continue as a British overseas Territory, and this is because under the UN charter we have the right to self-determination” concluded the Xinhua interview.