Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 30, 2017 (SKNIS): A group of Students and Teachers from the Edgar T. Morris Primary School were recently given an opportunity to tour the Federal Parliament where they received first-hand information of the workings of the Honourable House.
Deputy Speaker, the Honourable Senator Akilah Byron-Nisbett welcomed the group and interacted with them in a question-and-answer segment that had the students quite engaged. Senator Byron explained that it was extremely important to expose the students to such knowledge.
“Students are taught about Parliament in Social Studies and are given the academic information on same. Being able to see, hear from and learn about Parliament from the Parliamentary hall and by the Members and Staff of Parliament allows that knowledge to seem more real and may even spark more interest in Parliament itself,” said Senator Byron-Nisbett, during an interview with the St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS).
Senator Byron-Nisbett said that the students were very receptive, and that she was quite impressed by their eagerness to learn about Parliament.
“The students were extremely happy to be in Parliament, even more excited to be able to role play within Parliament itself. They would have done a skit at school during the Independence celebrations about Parliament, and so it made being there even more real and exciting for them. They had quite a bit of questions and they were very engaging and so that made the experience more interactive and informative for the students,” she said, adding that they truly appreciated being able to be at Parliament and experience what they were taught in their Social Studies classes.
The Deputy Speaker said that the Parliament of St. Kitts and Nevis welcomes initiatives like this one, and encourages more teachers to organize field trips of this nature so that students can learn more and get hands-on experience.
“It should be noted that one of the mandates of the Speaker, the Hon. Michael Perkins, is to make the Parliament more accessible and to be able to build knowledge as to the work of Parliament. Having field trips such as this one is something that he encourages and so we are looking forward to even more schools visiting in the future, as this would only serve to ensure that our young people are fully informed about the work of the Parliament,” added the deputy speaker.
