The reconstruction of the North West Secondary School, Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-Waini), will soon commence following the signing of the contract to rebuild.
The contract was awarded to Aruca Investments. The project is scheduled to be completed in 14 months with a contract cost of $346.2 million. The project consultant is Innovative Engineering Services.
During brief remarks at the signing ceremony in the Ministry of Education’s Boardroom on Friday, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand expressed that the quality of work executed on the project will greatly impact the lives of students. As such, she called on the contractor to deliver quality service and complete the project in the agreed time.
She said that since the school was destroyed by fire, the students and teachers have been tremendously inconvenienced. Minister Manickchand told the contractors and consultant that the completion of the school is not like any other project they have worked on.
She explained that the way they approach this project in terms of quality and time taken to complete it can change many lives by ensuring children receive a proper education.
Moreover, Minister Manickchand said that education delivery in Region One will see further development with new schools scheduled to be built at Waramuri, Hosororo and Kwebana over the next few years.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Mr Alfred King noted that the rebuilding of the North West Secondary School is a critical component in the Ministry’s efforts to attain universal secondary education. Mr. King said that the Ministry of Education is working on achieving Universal Secondary Education. He explained that this project is important to achieving that goal.
Giving a brief overview of the project, Special Projects Officer, Mr Ron Eastman said after extensive consultations, a design was approved for the new building. The reconstructed North West Secondary School will be a two-story building with 23 classrooms, three science labs, a sanitary block and an accessible lift.
Also present during the signing were Deputy Chief Education Officer with responsibility for Amerindian and Hinterland Education Development (AHED), Mr. Marti DeSouza and the Director of the School Boards Secretariat, Mr Deonarine Hardat.
On September 25, 2021, the North West Secondary School, was destroyed by fire. The Ministry of Education has provided support and made alternative arrangements to facilitate the students enrolled at the secondary school until it is rebuilt.
