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Businessman offers to demolish St. Rose’s for half of engineer’s estimate
Questions have surfaced about whether the Ministry of Education should spend $30 million on the demolition of the St. Rose’s High School, in keeping with the Engineer’s estimate.
While some companies, who tendered for the project submitted bids as low as $16M and $IIM, some found it strange that the Education Ministry would spend that much for a demolition.
One contractor, Rizwan Khan, said that he is willing to do the job for half of the engineer’s estimate, although he did not bid for the project.
An officer from the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, said that a project is usually awarded to a company within about two weeks.
It is unclear which company was awarded the contract, given that bids were open last Tuesday.
Additionally, the Ministry said that classes for the students at St. Rose’s High will not be disrupted due to the demolition.
Creaking floors, broken windows, leaking ceilings and crooked stairways are to be a thing of the past for the School. The Ministry has set the demolition date for December 10, to facilitate the construction works.
The Public Relations Officer of the Education Ministry, Murtland Haley, informed that ‘arrangements’ are being made to have the students properly accommodated during the new school term in January.
A section of the stairway that is in a deplorable state
One segment of the rotted ceiling
The school has, for quite some time, been in a state not conducive for learning.
This newspaper understands that all public schools are expected to be closed by December 15 of this year however; the St. Rose’s High School will close one week before to accommodate the demolition.
This newspaper understands that the section of the school that is adjacent to Church Street will be demolished.
The nine classrooms that will be affected by the demolition will be provided for in the other buildings of the school.
Most of the classes have already evacuated the section of the building. Students are also forced to enter and exit the school through the St. Joseph’s Ursuline Convent gate, which is located on Camp Street, Georgetown.
It was explained that most of the classrooms are already crammed and so whatever space is available, will be made use of.
A visit to the building set for demolition displayed a rather frightening image, since the floors of the building were creaking and cracking. Some of the windows were falling out and the stairways were deploring.
Sections of the ceiling were leaking and walls of the building were rotten. To ensure the safety of the students, the specific section is prohibited.
The source told Kaieteur News that the St. Rose’s High School has been in existence for over 150 years and currently schools over 500 students. It was with much concern that the source said no renovation works was done over a period of years to maintain the building.
Along with the reconstruction of this school, the Wismar, Christianburg Secondary School will also undergo construction works, according to Haley.
The two schools have both been suffering from structural issues for quite some time and several complaints were received with regards to the safety of the students and teachers at these institutions.
The cost of the renovation works has not yet been made known.
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