–construction to begin before yearend

THE small community of Bamia, on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, some half-a-mile from Amelia’s Ward, will soon boast a spanking new primary and nursery school.
With construction slated to commence in the latter part of the year, this development will bring an end to the decades of inconveniences suffered by both teachers and pupils of the Bamia Primary and Nursery Schools which are currently housed in a small multi-complex community centre.
When completed, the two schools will be situated in the same compound at Phase 3 Amelia’s Ward, which will allow for the enrollment of children residing in Phases 2 and 3.
According to Regional Executive Officer, Ms Marcia Paddy, the new facilities will alleviate the overcrowding that obtains at Amelia’s Ward Primary School.
The decision to build to facilitate children from both Bamia and Amelia’s Ward, she said, was taken after it was learnt that the communities will shortly boast 300-odd new households.
“It is because of the extension that is expected through the housing development project,” she said.
“ We were told that about 300 households will be added in that area, so in anticipating the amount of children coming from the area, rather than to build at Bamia just to facilitate Bamia’s population, we decided to merge the two.”
There will be a short access road from the school to the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. Both schools, the Guyana Chronicle understands, will cost approximately $90M. But while the nursery school, which will facilitate 149 children, will be constructed in 2017, the primary one, which will facilitate maximum 750 children, will be completed in 2018.
Currently, there are about 60 children attached to both the nursery and primary schools, with about eight teachers.
“Where they are right now, in terms of physical activities and classroom delivery,” Paddy said, “it is very crowded, because in that lower flat, they have the nursery as well as the primary programme; and we know that the nursery programme is separate from the primary.
“So, even though they have one teacher per class, they are very cramped.”
Noting that the new facility will be of tremendous benefit to the performance of the children as well as their teachers, Paddy said:
“Once the students are in their own classroom, the teacher will be able to develop their own reading corners… In terms of the IRI (Interactive Radio Instruction) mathematics programme, they normally would use a CD player, and so the noise would not disturb the other classes; they can work independently.
“The nursery programme is something that needs a lot of space to set up all the play areas, and so it will allow the nursery also to have a full programme, according to the timetable.”
The school will also boast a library, computer lab, and playground which will allow the children to have full exposure. Bamia Primary is deemed one of the low- performing schools as a result of the current situation, so it is anticipated that performances will be improved with the availability of the new school.
The Community Development Council will also be approaching the Ministry of the Presidency for a schoolbus, which will assist with the transporting of students living on the farther side of Bamia.