Prime Minister Samuel Hinds last Saturday visited Region Eight to inspect the site where the Kato Secondary School will be constructed and he was briefed on the status of the project, according to the Government Information Agency (GINA).
GINA said that the facility will cater for approximately 350 students.
The scope of work for the project includes 12 classrooms, an industrial arts department, a canteen, two science laboratories, an administrative block, a computer laboratory, home economic and agriculture departments, facilities for differently-abled persons, sanitary blocks, two multi-purpose rooms, a library and research area, and a visual arts department.
A students’ dormitory to accommodate 300 students coming from other villages and satellite communities, will also be constructed. This building will have a dining area, lobby, sleeping area, laundry room, accommodation for dorm wardens, kitchen, and sanitary facilities, it added.
According to GINA, Special Projects Officer in Ministry of Education Rabindra Kishun explained that the project has already been advertised and bids were to be closed at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board this week. Construction is expected to commence in early 2013.
GINA noted that over the years, access to secondary education in hinterland communities has improved significantly. Today there are 13 schools, along with the Anna Regina Multilateral School providing hinterland students with access to secondary education. The Anna Regina Multilateral, while not in the hinterland, provides access to secondary education for all the Amerindian communities in Region 2.
GINA further said that the provision of universal access to secondary education is among the commitments that government made and also to cater for the influx of children coming out of the primary schools now that Guyana has achieved universal primary education.
