In a significant step towards enhancing educational opportunities in Guyana’s hinterland, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, ceremoniously turned the sod on Monday for the construction of the Monkey Mountain Secondary School.
This initiative is part of a broader effort by the government to expand access to secondary education across the country, aligning with its ambitious goal to achieve universal secondary education by 2025.
The project, which is part of a larger allocation of $407,659,560 for the construction of secondary schools in Region Eight, signifies a crucial investment in the educational infrastructure of the area.
The Monkey Mountain Secondary School is expected to cater to the educational needs of students from the communities of Monkey Mountain, Taruka and Tusseneng. The complex will host a teachers’ quarters and a small dormitory for the children of Taruka and Tusseneng.
Minister Manickchand highlighted the importance of the new school, stating that it will alleviate the burden on existing educational facilities such as Paramakatoi by accommodating an averaged 250 secondary-aged children.
Currently, students from these communities have had to travel significant distances to access secondary education, often facing logistical challenges due to the limited availability of schools in the region.
The construction contract, valued at $208,282,809, has been awarded to K’s Trucking & Construction Service, as announced by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), pursuant to public advertisements in the newspapers and the World Wide Web.
This contract includes facilities such as laboratories, an Information Technology lab, and a library, ensuring that students have access to modern learning resources upon completion. The training of teachers is currently ongoing and more teachers were identified to begin training for instruction at the secondary level.
During her address, Minister Manickchand underscored the holistic approach of the project, mentioning that alongside the school, provisions will be made for a teachers’ quarters to accommodate staff, given the remote location of Monkey Mountain. This measure aims to attract and retain qualified educators, thereby ensuring the delivery of quality education to students in the area.
Residents of Monkey Mountain expressed their deep gratitude, anticipation and appreciation for the new school, and the relief it will bring to their families. The residents chose to let their current grade six children be educated in the community pending the completion of the school.
A local resident of the community expressed that the dreams and wishes of the community have come true.
“Now that we will have a brand-new secondary school constructed right in our village, our children will be able to get educated from the nursery level right up to secondary and I can speak for most parents when I say that we can now die happily seeing the development of our village.”
In addition to Monkey Mountain, secondary schools are being constructed in Micobie and Kopinang while dorm facilities and schools are being significantly upgraded at Paramakatoi and Kato.
