The Government of Guyana has set aside $1.7 billion to transform education delivery in Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo (Region 9) with the construction of a modern secondary school at Karasabai.
The project will provide more educational opportunities for students in the region and transform the quality of their lives. The school complex will be fitted with 10 buildings, including the main teaching block, a modern science laboratory for Physics, Chemistry and Biology, TVET Centres, a combined Home Economics and cafeteria area, teachers’ quarters, and an outdoor sitting forecourt.
The facility will cater to 500 students in the classroom and 250 students in the dormitories, ensuring that students no longer have to traverse rough terrains daily to receive the education they deserve.
The sod-turning ceremony was attended by the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand; Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Alfred King; and Assistant Chief Education Officer for Amerindian and Hinterland Education Development, Marti DeSouza.
The school’s construction will be done by Avinash Contracting and is scheduled to be completed in two years. Once completed, the school will cater to students from Karasabai and other neighbouring villages, offering them the opportunity to pursue a sound secondary education. Students in the Karasabai subdistrict, from communities such as Tiger Pond, Cracrana, Tsushima, Kokshebai, and Yurong Paru, are currently either not receiving a secondary education or are being educated in primary tops, a secondary department within a primary school.
The Education Minister, in her address, noted that the school’s construction is one step closer towards achieving universal education in the region.
Minister Dharamall added that delivering education to the people of Region Nine has always been on the agenda for the People’s Progressive Party Government since it assumed office.
Regional Chairman of Region Nine, Bryan Allicock, expressed pride in seeing the project become a reality, and the village Toshao, Elvis Edwards, thanked the ministers for listening to the needs of the people and delivering on their promise.
Besides the Karasabai Secondary School, the government is also constructing several other schools across the country. These include schools at Hosororo, Kewbana, and Waramuri in Region One; the North West Secondary School, which is currently being rebuilt after it was destroyed by arson; the Abram’s Zuil Secondary School in Region Two; two new schools in Region Three; the Yarokabra Secondary School and the Good Hope Secondary School in Region Four; the North Ruimveldt Secondary School in Georgetown; and a secondary school in Orealla in Region Six.
The government is also extending the dormitories at Paramakatoi and Kato in Region Eight and constructing a school in Jawalla in the Upper Mazaruni in Region Seven.
