Minister of Education Shaik Baksh on Thursday commissioned a $19M school at Shieldstown which will house 250 students and 13 teachers.

A Government Informa-tion Agency (GINA) press release said the modern, one-flat, 5300 square foot, West Bank Berbice school brings the number of schools in Region Five to 32. Baksh said government remained committed to ensuring the delivery of quality education to students nationwide. In keeping with this government spending in this sector had significantly increased over the years, paving the way for the implementation of programmes aimed at modernising educational faculties. Baksh said the 2007 budget had allocated $15.6B to the education sector.

The minister assured the community that government would continue to use its resources to support the school. He complimented the teachers, who had enhanced the school’s learning environment by making use of teaching aids. Baksh said the country had advanced in terms of providing access to nursery education, and had already achieved universal primary education. The minister also said that parents and teachers must collaborate with the ministry to ensure that children stayed in school and completed their education.

GINA said schools were being built at Linden, Bartica, Diamond/Grove and at Hope, East Coast Demerara, among other areas.