North Ruimveldt School upgraded to ‘A’ list status

Feb 28, 2015 News

Laced with renditions the likes of Pharrell Williams’ ‘Happy’ from its own steel

Minister Manickchand in the company of others after the unveiling of the school’s dedication plaque

orchestra, the North Ruimveldt Secondary School was yesterday declared an ‘A’ List school. The official declaration was made by Minister of Education, Ms. Priya Manickchand, who described the ceremony to commission the school as “a huge day for us.”
In fact she confidently pointed out, “this is the epitome of education; this is why we work…This school represents what Guyana is capable of; this is what we can do if everybody that should be doing their job applies themselves,” added the Minister.
According to Head Mistress (Ag) of the School, Ms. Margaret Joseph, while a number of other schools have been able to attain the status of ‘A’ list, the Mandela Avenue School is perhaps the only one that has been able to gain this status based on its improved matriculation. She intimated that the school has moved from a 34 per cent matriculation level to 50 per cent.
Former Headteacher of the school, Ms. Dianne Peters, was credited with helping to make the school what it is today because of her dedicated efforts to improve the quality of the institution. The school has therefore moved from being a lower to a higher category school, that is, from a ‘B’ List to an ‘A’ List School. And according to information out of the Ministry of Education,

A section of the gathering yesterday.

the improvement of the school is evident in the results at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, a feat that the Ministry has credited the teachers, parents and students for.
But bringing the school to the level of ‘A’ List required substantial funding from Government to facilitate significant upgrades. These included, works to the classroom block, the washroom facilities, repairs to the ceiling and auditorium and work has commenced on the conversion of the school’s unused cycle shed to accommodate the Allied Arts Department; which will house the Music, Visual Arts and Physical Education Departments. Funds were plugged into upgrading the school’s library.
Funds have also been directed to the Agricultural and the Information Technology Departments.

The North Ruimveldt Secondary School.

In fact, works in this regard has resulted in the school being eligible to become one of the public education facilities in the country to have in place interactive virtual classroom facilities. The other facilities that will be so endowed, according to Minister Manickchand, are the Cyril Potter College of Education and the Government Technical Institution.
According to Manickchand, the school has nearly 100 per cent staffing as it has 37 out of 38 required teachers on staff. These include nine trained graduates, four untrained graduates, 20 trained teachers and four untrained teachers. In addition, there are two part-time staff members: a Music Specialist and an Electricity Specialist. However, there is yet need for a Mechanical Engineering teacher.
The North Ruimveldt School is currently offering 24 subjects at CSEC and represent the efforts of Government through the Education Ministry to improve the level of secondary education.
Following the unveiling of a dedication plaque by Minister Manickchand, officials were treated to a tour of the school.
Among those who attended the forum to commission the school were Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam, who offered brief remarks and Permanent Secretary Ms. Delma Nedd.
The ceremony was kicked into motion with opening remarks from President of the School’s Alumni, Michael Benjamin, who compared the quality of the school to that of Queen’s College.