As part of the government’s efforts to boost the quality of secondary education nationwide, a spanking new $1 billion secondary school currently under construction in Region Three is set to be completed by the end of November.
A Ministry of Education release on Tuesday stated that the $1 billion Westminster Secondary School is being constructed at La Parfaite Harmonie and is 84 per cent completed. It is being funded by the World Bank through the Guyana Secondary Education Improvement Project (GSEIP) which began during the first quarter of 2015.
The GSEIP project aims to improve the quality of secondary education across the country.
The contract for the construction of the school was inked on October 1, 2018, while construction began on October 18 of the same year with R Bassoo and Sons Construction Inc as the constructing company. The consulting firms are Deen + Partners and SRKN Engineering.
When completed, the structure will be a model school that meets international standards. The school will house 1,000 students and will cater for the growing population in Region Three with the emergence of a number of new housing schemes in the region.
Education minister Priya Manickchand, accompanied by Project Coordinator of GSEIP, Jimmy Bhojedat; and Regional Education Officer (Region Three) Annesta Douglas, visited the site on Saturday for an update on the project’s progress
The school was scheduled to be completed at the end of January of this year, however, a number of factors contributed to the project not meeting the initial deadline. During the site visit the minister was assured by the construction company that the new deadline of November 30 will be met.
Manickchand assured that she will be paying close attention to the project and is looking forward to the completion of the school for the benefit of the children it will serve.
The new school will see the reduction of secondary departments in primary schools (Primary Tops) in the region. Students will be drawn from La Grange, L’Aventure, Goed Fortuin and other areas within that catchment area.
Upon completion, the Westminster Secondary School will be outfitted with classrooms that cater for students with disabilities. There will be modern Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) departments for Home Economics, Home Management and Clothing and Textile. Added to the aforementioned departments, will be an Information Technology, Mathematics, Language, and Audio Visual laboratories in addition to Biology, Chemistry and Physics labs.
A Unit of Allied Arts, a modern library, a multi-purpose hall and a modern administration block will also be part the new education complex, the release added.
