Despite a promise by the former education minister, the $293.5M state-of-the-art Leonora Secondary School is yet to be completed and construction works were still ongoing yesterday as the first day of the new school term began.
The school was commissioned on November 24 last year by former Minister of Education Shaik Baksh and in one of his last official acts in office he went ahead with the commissioning, promising that all works will be completed before the start of the new school term.
There were concerns at the time that the commissioning was scheduled as a boost to the ruling party prior to the November 28 general elections even though the facility was not ready.
When Stabroek News visited the school yesterday, it was noted that construction works were still going on and the students were loitering on the corridors and in the school yard. Further checks by this newspaper revealed that the classrooms were yet to be organized with the furniture and blackboards, most of which were assembled on the corridors and in the school yard.
At the time of the commissioning, Stabroek News had questioned the building’s state of readiness since it was observed that the septic tanks had not been connected with the pipes and there was wood and slush in the yard. While Baksh had assured this newspaper that the building would be ready for the new school term, up to yesterday some of the septic tanks had not been connected to the pipes and there was still slush in the school yard.
Baksh was not retained in the Cabinet and efforts to elicit a comment from the new Minister of Education Priya Manickchand on the situation yesterday were unsuccessful.
Deputy Principal Jainarine Narine said “we had assembly this morning and we are working to have the classrooms organized as some teachers already started teaching.”
Principal Mynette Glasgow Daniels further said that they are trying to work with what they have since it is her view that the school is not ready as yet. She noted that they have already started teaching in the building but she was unable to say when the construction work will be completed.
“My teachers are all here eager to teach but the building is yet to be prepared but we are in there trying to work with what we have,” she said.
The construction work is visible from a distance since there is a sand truck parked in the compound and workmen are busy trying to have their work finished.
Principal Daniels said that the school will be ready and organized to begin full classes in the afternoon session, since they were eager to get their programme underway. But she, however, was concerned about when the construction work would be finished.
Although the school building was a hive of activity, teachers and students were mostly moving back and forth trying to get all their belongings from the old school building into the new one.
With construction works ongoing at the site, observers say that safety of the students is also a concern.
