THE construction of a new three-storey building to house the North Ruimveldt Secondary School, is on track for the scheduled October 2023 completion date, Minister Education Priya Manickchand has said.

The school was destroyed by a fire on of electrical origin in 2021, causing hundreds of students to be displaced temporarily.
Commenting on the efforts to rebuild a permanent structure to house those students, Minister Manickchand said: “It (the construction of the North Ruimveldt Secondary School) is going well, to be able to be completed on time.”
In August 2022, the Ministry of Education signed a $566.9 million contract for reconstruction of the school.
The new building is being constructed by Kares Engineering. Once completed, the building will be equipped with science and information technology laboratories and modern classrooms to house 450-500 students.

When the contract was signed, it was announced that the building is slated to be completed within 14 months.
The minister, in 2022, 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.
She added: “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.”

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.