– Sheriff Construction Inc wins contract
The sod was yesterday turned for a secondary school in Jawalla in Region Seven.
The project, which is valued at $231 million, is expected to provide education to some 250 students upon completion, a release from the Ministry of Education said yesterday.
According to the release, plans to have a secondary school constructed in Jawalla were made last year with Minis-ter of Education, Priya Manickchand, and other senior ministry officials visiting the community in March, 2023, to determine the ideal location for the school.
The announcement yesterday was officially marked by a sod-turning ceremony, attended by the Minister of Education, and included parents, teachers and villagers. She took the opportunity to emphasise government’s commitment to enhancing educational infrastructure and access, particularly in remote communities. Meanwhile, Father Charles Roland, the local priest to the Jawalla community, led the ceremony with an opening prayer, brief scripture reading and well wishes at the site where the school will be built.
Manickchand explained that after the successful completion of the school, the students of the community will no longer have to wonder how they’re getting education, and if they have to leave their region to do so.
“As you can see, we’re training teachers right from the village… this is the first time in the history of Guyana, we have as many teachers training. We used to be able to train about 535 teachers per year. We’re now training just under 2,000 teachers per year. Many of them are coming from hinterland regions where they are returning to serve.”
She also explained that these initiatives are being taken to ensure that teachers and students can thrive regardless of where they are in the country.
The contract for the construction has been awarded to Sheriff Construction Inc. and the MoE assured that this was decided after a rigorous and competitive bidding process, as outlined in the Public Procurement Act. The construction period is projected to be eight months.
The MoE informed that the new Jawalla Secondary School will be equipped with facilities including chemistry, biology, phy-sics, and information technology laboratories, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) laboratories, a home economics room, library space, teachers’ quarters, spacious classrooms, and a small dormitory.
The new secondary school will be the second of its kind in the Upper Mazaruni District and will help to ease the overcrowding at the DC Caesar Fox Secondary School in Waramadong. The new school will provide students in other communities, including Quebanang, Kako, Imbaimadai, Kambaru, Ominike, Abbou, and Eladupai, with the opportunity to receive a sound secondary education. These students are currently either not receiving a secondary education or are being educated in primary tops, a secondary department in a primary school.
Phillipai, another community in the region will be attaining a new secondary school as well.
The release noted that Jawalla Secondary School is just one of several new hinterland secondary schools the Ministry of Education plans to construct this year. The ministry, it added, has embarked on an “aggressive” programme to ensure that the nation’s children have access to secondary education. The government has set 2025 as the target to achieve Universal Secondary Education (USE) and to achieve this, the MoE has initiated the construction of several secondary schools across the country.
The Ministry of Education was allocated $74.4 billion, a portion of which will be used for the construction, rehabilitation, extension, and maintenance of educational facilities nationwide.
Sheriff Construction Inc expressed their commitment to delivering the project on schedule and to the highest standards of quality. The company stated that it looks forward to collaborating with the local community and stakeholders to ensure the successful completion of the school, the release added.
