At a cost of $61.1m, the St. Gabriel’s Nursery School was yesterday commissioned.
A release from the Ministry of Education said that the facility is equipped with modern classrooms, interactive learning environments, and outdoor play areas that are designed to foster both academic growth and social development for young children.
The construction commenced in March 2022 at a total cost of $60,100,000. The project, undertaken by contractor Trevon David, was completed within a seven-month period, followed by an additional seven months for defects liability. The new facility accommodates 161 pupils and 13 staff members across 10 classrooms, divided equally into 5 first-year and 5 second-year classrooms.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand in her remarks, noted that although Nursery Education is not mandated in Guyana, the country has the highest enrolment rate of nursery age children in the Commonwealth Caribbean.
“That is Guyana’s interest in education, and because Nursery education is not compulsory, it has never received the same kind of infrastructure, the same kind of attention that Primary and Secondary has. But from 2020 to now, we have built 42 Nursery schools across this country. I so often speak of the secondary schools we’re building, that I don’t think people realize it’s across the sector that we’re developing our physical infrastructure for children”, she said.
She stated that the nursery education years are most vital in children’s young lives.
“We see it all the time. If the nursery teachers put out children who cannot read at their grade level, then the entire system feels that. They go into Grade One and struggle, to Grade Two and struggle, reach Grade Six and can’t write a single word on the NGSA paper, and so, this is the level where we’re investing significantly to ensure they’re getting the foundation they need,” the Minister said.
