Sod turned for state-of-the-art secondary school at Prospect, EBD

Construction of a state-of-the-art Prospect Secondary School will soon commence on the East Bank Demerara corridor, providing access to quality education for over 1000 students.

Minister Priya Manickchand was joined by other stakeholders to turn the sod to kickstart the project

A sod-turning exercise was facilitated at the site on Friday, where Education Minister Priya Manickchand explained that the construction of the school will serve to eradicate some of the present challenges as it relates to quality secondary education.

The building caters for the traditional classroom space but also facilities catering for the Allied Arts whereby there will be a studio for the performing arts, a science laboratory, a state-of-the-art library and an Information Communication Technology (ICT) laboratory.

A blueprint of the new Prospect Secondary School

She said that presently, there are eight secondary departments within primary schools known as “Primary Tops” and approximately 450 students are being taught in auditoriums across three secondary schools on the East Bank of Demerara. The Ministry is seeking to abolish these secondary departments by providing improved conditions for them to be taught.

According to Manickchand, Guyana achieved universal primary education between the years 2012 to 2014. As such, they are on the move to achieve universal secondary education.

To achieve this milestone, funding from the World Bank was secured for the Guyana Secondary Education Improvement Project (GSEIP). Under this project are the secondary schools that are currently under construction at Good Hope on the East Coast of Demerara, West Minster on the West Bank of Demerara, Yarrowkabra on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway and the Prospect Secondary.

After the approval for these schools was granted in 2014 under the GSEIP, the PPP/C Government left office the following year. Upon returning in 2020, none of the schools was completed thereby affecting 3000 students. Sounding a warning to contractors, it was clearly stated that if the awarded company is not honouring its contractual obligations, they will be removed to make way for another company that can manage the project.

Manickchand assured the parents and students that Government is committed to ensuring that the construction of the Prospect Secondary School will not suffer from lacklustre management. Moreover, she appealed to parents that even with access to quality education, the absence of parental support will cost children opportunities.

Chief Education Officer, Dr Marcel Hutson said that the construction of this institution is being driven by the Ministry’s Strategic Plan 2020 – 2025. He said such a project is founded on the pillars of the Sustainable Development Goal Four: Access, Quality, Equity and Lifelong Learning. (G12)