CONSTRUCTION of the new Nismes Secondary School, a $1.3 billion state-of-the-art facility on the West Bank of Demerara, is being accelerated to be fully ready by the new school term in January.

According to a release from the Ministry of Education, with the majority of the project completed, Minister of Education Sonia Parag has confirmed that students could start moving into their new classrooms from as early as next week.

“But what we are doing is consulting the parents first,” Minister Parag said following a site visit on Friday afternoon.

“We thought that we would make a site visit because construction isn’t completed as yet, and we would really like the complex to be completed so students can move into the new buildings,” Minister Parag said.

She indicated that with three of the buildings in the compound slated for completion over the weekend, 11 very spacious classrooms would be available to accommodate students.

“We will now be able to move students from the old building at the school to the new complex while we finish the construction on the dome and other buildings,” Minister Parag explained.

These “other” buildings include the admin office, a library, a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) wing, science laboratories, etc.

Minister Parag instructed the contractors that the entire project must be completed by the end of December.

“…So that the new term, we will have this entire complex completed and ready for more intake,” the Minister added.

She believes that the three initial buildings “can comfortably house the students that we have,” providing them with a long-awaited move to an improved environment.

To ensure this deadline is met, Minister Parag has mandated close supervision. “I will be having the consultant, every day, coming to this site, or every other day to monitor and make sure that the progress is happening day-by-day,” the Education Minister asserted.

She encouraged the contractors to double their manpower and extend working hours where necessary to ensure early completion.

“They need to do what they have to do to be able to make that happen within three months,” she stressed.

The construction of the Nismes Secondary School is part of the government’s wider commitment to improving education delivery all across the country.

“We’ve ensured that we, as a government, invested heavily in the last five years in education,” the Minister noted.

Minister Parag said that while the sector has made significant strides under the guidance of President Irfaan Ali, there are still a few delayed commitments.

“…and we would really like to bring them to a completion; and this is one of those schools where we want to be able to do that.”

The spanking new Nismes Secondary School is designed to accommodate approximately 800 students, and will feature over 20 classrooms, science labs, a TVET wing, and other necessary amenities to support the goal of achieving Universal Secondary Education.