A two-storied concrete   edifice, which was constructed to house the expanding population of the New Amsterdam (NA) Secondary School [Multilateral] was formally commissioned and handed over during a simple mid morning ceremony on Thursday.

The building which was under construction for five months and, was built in two phases at a cost of  $10,073,000 ,  has the capacity to hold six classrooms ,along  with a student population of just over 200 students.
Addressing the gathering, which included Educational and Regional Officers, Regional Chairman Permaul David Armagon noted that the need for expansion at the senior secondary school was due to the fact that several parents have opted to have their children remain in the region although they received places at senior schools in Georgetown.
“The new building will ease the crampness of space which we currently face, as students cannot learn in a cramped   area. However, while we need to create learner friendly classroom, I hope that better sense will prevail and the building can be utilised the way it was intended.”
The chairman added: “The education sector takes the largest slice of the national budget. When we invest, we expect better results.”
Justifying the reason for the project, Regional Education Officer Ms. Shaifran Bhajan noted that over the past three years there was a steady increase of placement of students to senior secondary schools, many of whom opted to remain in the county. As a result classrooms had to be added, as students were forced to occupy the New Amsterdam Learning Resource Centre.
The New Amsterdam Secondary School currently has a population of almost 1,000 but the building when initially erected catered for 600 students.
Meanwhile a few weeks ago, when the building was first handed over, parents and students had refused to occupy the building.
But, the Chairman told Guyana Chronicle that plans were to have the building used on the completion of the first phase of the construction, however, he was subsequently informed that the building was too hot to be inhabited.
“Consequently, there had to be some under sealing, fans were installed and the building was painted. Those plans were expected to be executed during the second phase, however, we had to fast track it so that the building can be usable by January [2013].”
Parents and teachers had complained about the inadequate teaching areas at the learning institution as the student population has outgrown the facility resulting in the Headmaster’s house being converted into a classroom, and the library being occupied by the sixth formers.