An $8.5 million student dormitory that will house around 60 female students was recently commissioned at Paramakatoi, Region Eight by Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai. The students hail from far flung areas of the region.

According to a Government Infor-mation Agency (GINA) news release, the commissioning of the building is part of the administration’s continued efforts to provide more educational opportunities for young people.

The release said that the Amerindian Affairs Ministry has over the years been providing educational opportunities for students through scholarship programmes to enable them to have access to an education. It noted that the minister encouraged students to make use of opportunities presented since a quality education takes a person through life and out of poverty.

The minister was quoted in the release as saying, “I hope that all of you are serious about your education… if you are not educated it puts you at a disadvantage and keeps you in poverty.

“We want to see many more professionals coming from your communities; we want to see more students graduating from the tertiary level and taking up those opportunities.”

Meanwhile, Regional Educational Officer of Region Eight Ishwar Dass also advised the students to be obedient to the rules of the dormitory.

According to the release, Dass said that a walkway is also being constructed to ensure easier access for students when they are traversing to and from the facility.

On August 14, a $95 million contract was signed for the construction of a similar facility at Liliendaal East Coast Demerara to house approximately 160 scholarship students from various hinterland communities. The facility will be equipped with a library, an auditorium, a laundry and kitchen and living quarters. It is expected to be completed by September 2010.