AN expansion of the East Ruimveldt Secondary School worth $175M, and another at St. Winefriede’s Secondary worth $85M were signed on Monday by the Ministry of Education (MoE).

Immediately after the exercise, which coincided with the turning of the sod at both locations, work is scheduled to commence on both contracts, and run for five months each.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Mr. Alfred King signed both contracts, with the one at East Ruimveldt being for a flat modern building to accommodate approximately half of the 599 students it currently caters to.

The expanded facility, which will be 58.5m by 37.4m in dimension, will cater for 10 classrooms, an administrative block, and its own separate sanitary block, and besides having an independent electrical infrastructure, inclusive of a transformer, it will also be fully air-conditioned.

The building is being constructed by Delph Construction and General Supplies, and will be situated in the north-eastern section of the East Ruimveldt Secondary School’s compound.

At Winefriede’s, the contractor will be Singh and Son’s Construction, and the two-storey building, which will be 17.7m by 6.24m, will house classrooms and a modern, fully-outfitted science laboratory. Some sections will also include air conditioning units.

The new classrooms are expected to accommodate approximately 100 students. The school currently has 409 students.

The expansions at the two schools will complement the $198.9M expansions already ongoing at Queen’s College, The Bishops’ High School, St. Stanislaus College, and St. Joseph’s High, all of which are slated for next year. It also adds to the $566.9 million reconstruction of the North Ruimveldt Multilateral Secondary that is currently ongoing.

WIDEN INTAKE CAPACITY
The expansions and constructions are part of the MoE’s plans to widen intake capacity at several secondary schools in Georgetown, and all across the country, given the massive increase in retention of secondary school students currently being seen across the country.

As a result of effective policies being implemented by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, more primary school pupils are being retained by the secondary education system.

However, this is resulting in overcrowding at several secondary schools, and to deal with this, the MoE, in collaboration with the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) at various schools, has implemented several alternatives, including the use of air-conditioned tents, having students attend school on a rotation system, or renting buildings.

The expansion and construction of the schools are also part of the Ministry’s overall wider plan of achieving universal secondary education all across Guyana. Universal education means that all across the country, there is sufficient accommodation at secondary schools for all of the students leaving primary school.

Currently, in Guyana, several areas utilise “primary top” schools, which are used as an alternative for students who did not attain enough marks at the secondary school placement examinations, or where the existing secondary schools are full, and cannot accommodate any more students.

ELIMINATE ‘PRIMARY TOPS’
However, the government is striving to create more secondary schools, and eliminate the need for “primary tops”.

Making remarks at the ceremonies held at the respective schools , Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, as usual, sternly warned the contractors, telling them to ensure that they deliver as expected, and on schedule, given how significant their projects are to ensuring students can receive improved education facilities.

“I am saying to all contractors on board now, don’t be dishonest; don’t cut corners… I expect you to make sure you give us the quality that these children deserve. You bid on this project, saying I can do ‘X’ amount of work in ‘X’ amount of time. The country is moving away from the high tolerance level we have for people who fail,” the minister warned.

Cautioning that in cases where the contractor cannot deliver on time, the government would be going after them for liquidated damages, Minister Manickchand called on the PTA of both schools to be extra eyes and ears on the ground, and to continuously assess the work being done by the contractors. She noted that the respective Bill of Quantities would be given to each of the PTA, so that they can ensure that the contractors are using quality and quantities of materials as outlined in their contracts.

Minister Manickchand praised the PTAs and the schools’ administration for working with the Ministry to find solutions to the high retention issue currently facing the secondary school system.