Preparations are ongoing to have the Kato Secondary School opened for the new school term in January, according to the Regional Executive Officer (REO), Region Eight, Gavin Gounga.
“The plan right now is to commission the Kato School in the last week of this school term. So right now, the trucks and contractors are delivering those furniture and necessary supplies to commence school in January,” Gounga was quoted as saying in a Department of Public Information (DPI) media release.
The CEO also disclosed that the Teaching Service Commission had informed him that the necessary personnel to execute the functions of the school are in place, according to the DPI release. He added that all technical checks were conducted and the school had been given the green light to open in January. Students from nearby schools, including Mahdia Secondary, Sand Creek Secondary and Paramakatoi Secondary, who are currently housed in overcrowded dormitories will be transferred to Kato Secondary.
According to the DPI press release, Minister of State Joseph Harmon had announced in July that the Kato Secondary School which had been constructed at a cost of over hundreds of millions of dollars was unsafe for occupancy. After several interventions by the government, remedial works were completed by the contractor who was issued with the Certificate of Practical Completion for the school.
