— contractors warned to complete project within time frame, specifications

THE Ministry of Education on Monday inked a $566.9M contract for rebuilding of the section of the North Ruimveldt Multilateral Secondary that was last year destroyed by a fire that was electrical in origin.

The new building, a three-storey structure, will be constructed by Kares Engineering. It will be equipped with science and information technology laboratories and modern classrooms to house 450-500 students.

While delivering remarks at the signing and sod-turning ceremony, Education Minister Priya Manickchand said the ministry is keen on delivering to the children of Guyana.

“The day the school burnt, while the flames were still hot, we committed to rebuilding,” she said, adding: “Our commitment from the ministry is that even during this time and particularly during this time that we are going to make sure that the highest quality is delivered. It is very important that we complete this at a high quality, in the time. We said we will complete it so the children of South Georgetown receive what we intend for them to receive.”

The building is slated to be completed within 14 months.
The minister also issued a stern warning to contractors undertaking education-related projects across the country. “When contractors fail to do what they’re supposed to do, at the quality they’re supposed to do it, children suffer,” Manickchand said.

“I’m going to be harsher and more vigilant on delivery and that will see us doing things like apply liquated damages because people suffer when we don’t get these schools ready, when they’re not done to specs,” she added.

Minister Manickchand told the contractors that education projects should not be looked at as just another job, because if projects are not up to standard or are not completed, children are left to suffer.

She made reference to a delayed project in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), where secondary students are hosted at a primary school.
“If we don’t finish people will live in poverty for the rest of their lives because they miss that one single year where they couldn’t go to school,” she said.

Manickchand reminded that contractors are chosen through an impartial and transparent process of public tendering. Bids are submitted for projects, and in instances where projects are incomplete or not delivered within the specification of contracts, penalties are applied.

Meanwhile, the minister highlighted that such projects are not only the responsibility of the contractors and engineers. It is also the responsibility of technical staff, many of whom do not understand the relationship between education delivery and the construction process, she said.

Every construction project undertaken by the ministry form now on will have an education officer attached to the construction site, who will report to the ministry’s Permanent Secretary and Chief Education Officer, who will then report to the minister on the progress in relation to the delivery of education.
Acting Headmistress Allison Cosbert was in high praise for the new project.

“I am very pleased this morning because after the destruction a year ago, my staff and I, it was really difficult for us to cope after then, however, with the feedback from the ministry, we were able to hold on.”

Prior to the fire in 2021, more than 150 students would usually enrol at the North Ruimveldt Secondary, but due to the destruction caused by the fire, only 50 students will be placed at the school this September.

The North Ruimveldt Secondary School was destroyed by a fire in June 2021. The cause of the fire was electrical in origin and started from a faulty duplex electrical point that had a circuit strip (power strip) attached to it in a classroom on the third floor of the building.
The Education Minister had pledged at the time of the fire that the government will rebuild the institution which housed 512 students.