Bartica students turned out in their numbers on Monday to their newly-built state-of-the-art $380M secondary school located at Three-Mile, Bartica-Potaro Road in Region Seven.

Regional Chairman Holbert Knights told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that student turnout was above 75% and the school had not been affected by the persistent rainfall. He said the dorm for the new building is incomplete and as such the students are still using the old dormitory in Seventh Avenue. Transportation is provided to shuttle them to and from the school, however; the works are expected to be completed by weekend. Knights said too the access road to the school is problematic.

According to GINA the school was built to accommodate 1000 students from central Bartica and various parts of the region including the Mazaruni. It boasts an industrial arts department with modern furnishings, a fully-equipped computer and science laboratory, a home economics department, an auditorium and a dormitory. The Guyana Power and Light also installed a new transformer to service the building and there is also adequate water supply.

The new school will be used as a senior institution while students who were unsuccessful at the National Grade Six Assessment will be taught at the old secondary school building.

The release said construction of the school was delayed by two years mainly due to landscaping. Further, it said the school was built under the Basic Education Access and Management Support programme which facilitated the rehabilitation and construction of other schools including Bladen Hall, North Ruimveldt Multilateral, Lodge Community High, Charlestown Secondary, Tutorial High, Aurora Secondary, and Diamond Secondary. The Bartica Secondary School will be commissioned shortly.