REMEDIAL work on the defective Kato Secondary School in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) is reportedly almost complete, and will be opened later this month.

Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, made the announcement during the launch of Education Month 2017 at the Umana Yana on Monday.

She said there were some structural adjustments to be made to the building in order to make it safe and operation-ready.

Chief Education Officer, Marcel Hutson said that during the rehabilitation phase, due to the state of the road, they had some problems transporting equipment there. They, however, managed to get everything done.

Hutson added that they are working on the logistics, but a group of teachers have already been identified.

Kato Secondary was constructed under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration to facilitate those students in the region, who had to travel long distances to access secondary education. However, due to the sub-standard work done by the contractor, it has not been occupied.

The contract for the construction of the school received Cabinet’s approval on December 27, 2012 and was awarded by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to the lowest of four bidders.

The $728.165M contract was signed on December 31, 2012, with a commencement date of January 21, 2013. The contract provided for a two-year period for defects liability, one year after completion.