As part of government’s efforts to ensure access to education at all levels across Guyana, a new $89 million nursery school is to be constructed at Martyrs’ Ville on the East Coast of Demerara.
The Ministry of Education (MoE) in a release yesterday stated that a sod-turning ceremony was held at the site. In attendance were Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand; Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall; Chief Education Officer, Dr Marcel Hutson; Project Coordinator and Head of the MoE Buildings Unit; Ron Eastman; and Chairman of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), Ayube Mohamed.
The school is slated to accommodate 270 students and will have over eight classrooms and contain a modern sanitary block, an independent water system, and space for outdoor recreation. In addition, no longer would the Martyrs’ Ville students have to make the one-mile trek to the Mon Repos Nursery School, but will be able to attend school closer to home.
Manickchand in her remarks noted that although nursery education is not compulsory in Guyana, statistics show that Guyanese parents take that level of education very seriously, hence the efforts to ensure that children have access to nursery schools across Guyana. The government, she added, also takes it seriously as evidenced by the construction costs of the school being included in the first budget passed by the government since assuming office in August 2020.
She declared that the aim is not to just provide a classroom for pupils to sit but for them to receive a quality education. “Quality education doesn’t come by building a school alone, it comes by making sure we train teachers, it comes by making sure we have the adequate textbooks and practice books in your children’s hands and preferably individually, it comes by making sure we are constantly revising what we do at the Ministry of Education to make sure its relevant, it comes by making sure we place the right amount of money in the budget to be able to deliver.”
Manickchand pointed out that although Guyana has already achieved universal primary education, it is yet to achieve universal nursery and secondary education. The nursery school project, she said, will ensure the country moves closer to realising those goals. Last Friday the minister had turned the sod for the construction of the Prospect Secondary School on the East Coast of Demerara.
While addressing the audience of parents, pupils and residents of the community, Manickchand cautioned the firm awarded the contract to build the school, Doodnauth Construction and Supplies, that there will be “zero tolerance for slothfulness” regarding the project and that the MoE and the residents of the community are looking forward to the completion of the school by August 31, 2021 which marks the end of the contractual timeline.
Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Anil Nandlall said that it was an honour for him to be associated with the project since he grew up in the community. He said that the community has transformed over the years and that further development is in the pipeline. He said that the school will cater to the families that will soon move into the community and would need a nursery school for their young children to attend.
Chief Education Officer, Dr Marcel Hutson said that the school will be built with a focus on the development of the ‘total child’ by addressing issues such as access, safety, health and the enhancement of teaching and learning processes. The ministry, he noted, is aware that nursery education is the foundation and sets the tone for all other education levels that follow. Hutson assured that Guyanese can look forward to the rolling out of similar projects across the country as the Ministry’s Strategic Plan is executed to improve the efficiency of the education system.
