REGION Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) Chairman Gordon Bradford announced Friday that the government is set to commission schools in a number of villages within the region.
He made the observation at the commissioning of two spanking new schools in the said Region, one at Kamarang and the other at Paruima. Speaking at the commissioning of the school at Kamarang, Bradford said, “Your Regional Democratic Council, and by extension your government, will be constructing a new primary school just like this one, for the first time in the history of our country, in Eterinbang, where there is no school.

“On this we would like to thank the Ministry of Education for its support in helping us to garner the funds, so that we can have that school there. “We have signed the contract, visited the area and turned the soil and the construction has begun for that beautiful school. All for the children’s education.”

Speaking also at the commissioning was Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, who said, in not so many words, that the government is just getting started, “as more schools will continue to be built and commissioned around this country.” Noting that the construction of the schools at Kamarang and Paruima are in keeping with the Ministry of Education’s aim of ensuring equal access to education to everyone within the country, Minister Henry said:
“The Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Education, is on a mission to provide equal educational opportunities to all Guyanese, and therefore schools are being built on the coastland as well as in the hinterland.” Touching on the rapid developments taking place in science and technology, Minister Henry said, “The world is now facing complex, new and emerging problems which we have never faced before, and so the global community and individuals are required to find new solutions.”

And in a veiled reference to the coming of ‘first oil’ in a matter of months, Minister Henry said, “Our country is about to experience significant changes in our socio-economic status, and to cope with these changes and to ensure that those changes result in the development of our society, we have to begin to build our human capacity so that we can deal with complex problems, and that we could have the knowledge and the skills required.
“Ultimately, this involves creating educational opportunities for every child in the country.” As she went on to say, “If a community is to improve its economic and social wellbeing, it needs people with the right experience; with the right skill set, and the right education to maximize the benefits for as many generations as possible.”

Minister of State Dawn Hastings, who was also at the commissioning, encouraged those children at the function to use all the opportunities for growth a sound education would afford them. “I implore you, take your education seriously. You have no excuse; you cannot say to me or any other minister in your government that you do not have a comfortable school building whereby you can sit and learn together.” She also spoke of the significant increase the region has been seeing in its budgetary allocation, particularly where the education sector is concerned, she said this was one way of the government ensuring that hinterland communities are given equal opportunities to educate themselves.

The two schools that were commissioned that day together cost the government a little over G$30M. And while the primary school at Kamarang is set to accommodate 163 pupils, they both come equipped with a library, a designated information technology area, and staff rooms to ensure the learning environment is as conducive as possible.