Students in Region Three are set to benefit from the opening of three new secondary schools, with two opening within the next few weeks.
With the Tuschen and Nismes Secondary Schools near completion, all “primary tops” in the region will be closed, according to Education Minister Priya Manickchand.
The two new schools will accommodate those students in a more advanced educational setting.
The sod was also turned yesterday for the construction of a $900 million secondary school at Crane, which is expected to house 500 students.
Manickchand conducted site visits to the schools yesterday, where she provided progress updates.
Standing outside the multipurpose hall at the new Tuschen Secondary School, she said works are progressing well, as she noted that the new idea is for schools to be transformed into welcoming environments for students.
“The new thinking about school is that it mustn’t be burdensome. It must be a place children want to come to…and, in that they also learn, so that they could come out of whatever dire situations they may be coming from. This is what we want for the children of this country and this new Tuschen Secondary School is representing that. The buildings will be handed over shortly,” she noted.
Manickchand further explained the final touches are now being applied to the school’s environs.
“We’re looking now at landscaping. There’s going to be a multipurpose court, a shade house, place for an agriculture plot. The kids who are coming here were in primary tops or crowded up into other schools. So when those schools give us those children, they will now have more space. We’ll be able to repair them better, renovate them.”
Meanwhile, over at the $1.3 billion Nismes Secondary School, works are also progressing.
“The whole purpose of constructing secondary schools across the country but particularly here in Region Three is to ensure that every single child could get into a high school – a discrete high school with labs and furniture and classrooms,” Manickchand said.
“When I came into office in 2020, Region Three had the most trouble, as well as Georgetown and the East Bank, where we were unable to place more than 700 children into secondary schools. We’re down to a place where come September we’re going to close all the primary tops in Region Three because of the schools that we’re opening,” she added.
The minister also indicated that while some contractors are working according to schedule and have been meeting deadlines for completing their lots, there is another who has missed the deadline. Nevertheless, she noted that the schools’ openings will go according to plan.
The schools are being constructed as part of the ministry’s goal towards universal secondary education and will bring the total number of new secondary schools up to five, which were constructed in the region since the current administration took office.
The interior of a section of the school (Ministry of Education photo)
Minister Manickchand and team during the visit (Ministry of Education photo)
