After much public outcry surrounding the use of a textbook in the secondary school system, which states that homosexual unions may be considered a family type, the Ministry of Education has ordered that the controversial textbook be removed from the classroom.

A resolute Andrew Holness, Education Minister, told The Gleaner that he has instructed that the book be removed. "We have done so. We have asked them that the book not be used. That book is not recommended. We have given that instruction today," he stressed yesterday.

Mr. Holness also admitted to The Gleaner that the book was apparently being used in several schools. "The good thing that has come out of this is that the article (the story was first reported in The Gleaner) has alerted the ministry to this problem and we are taking action against it."

Additionally, the ministry has commissioned a full review of its approved textbooks. "We are reviewing all our books to ensure that they adhere to the moral view of the society.

"If we are going to have standard education right across the board, then it cannot be that we have several sources of information being presented," the minister reasoned.

Requisition

Also, Dr. Charlene Ashley, director of communications in the ministry, told our news team that the ministry has requisitioned that all books being used that are not on the approved list be submitted to its offices.

"A school bulletin will be issued to all schools, instructing them to submit to the ministry any book of which they are unsure and to further remind them of the approval process," she said.

While the ministry continues to deny that its officials endorsed the book, Gleaner checks have confirmed that the book was presented to teachers at a ministry-sponsored event held at its Caenwood Centre in late January, 2006. At least one school has said that the book came highly recommended at the workshop that was put on by the Home Economics Association and attended by officials from the Ministry.

In a telephone interview late yesterday from her home in St. Lucia, Norma Maynard, one of the authors of the book, said that they can do nothing about the Minister's decision.

"We cannot change his decision but the text is definitely not advocating any one type of family but simply presenting existing forms," said Mrs. Maynard

"It is unfortunate that only four sentences on page four in the text Home Economics CSEC and Beyond Management under the subheading family forms were used to label the total text as a gay book," she said in reference to an article published by a media house yesterday.