Sod turned to construct $208M Monkey Mountain Secondary School

Jul 02, 2024 News

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand and other officials on Monday turning the sod to commence the construction of Monkey Mountain Secondary School. (Photo courtesy, MoE)

Kaieteur News – Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand on Monday turned the sod to commence the construction of the $208,282,809 Monkey Mountain Secondary School in Region Eight.

Kaieteur News reported that in June, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office awarded the $208 million contract to K’s Trucking & Construction Service following a competitive bidding process.

The ministry in a release said that the project is part of a broader effort by the government to expand access to secondary education across the country, aligning with its goal to achieve universal secondary education by 2025.

The Monkey Mountain Secondary School when completed is expected to cater to the educational needs of students from the communities of Monkey Mountain, Taruka and Tusseneng. The complex will also have a teachers’ quarter and a small dormitory for the children of Taruka and Tusseneng.

The project includes also provisions of facilities such as laboratories, an Information Technology lab, and a library– ensuring that students have access to modern learning resources upon completion. The ministry shared that training of teachers is currently ongoing and more teachers were identified to begin training for the secondary level.

During the simple sod turning ceremony, Minister Manickchand highlighted the importance of the new school, stating that it will alleviate the burden on existing educational facilities such as Paramakatoi by accommodating an average 250 secondary-aged students.

The ministry reported that currently, students from these communities have had to travel significant distances to access secondary education, often facing logistical challenges due to the limited availability of schools in the region.

The Minister further made mention of the holistic approach of the project, mentioning that alongside the school, provisions will be made for a teachers’ quarters to accommodate staff, given the remote location of Monkey Mountain. This measure aims to attract and retain qualified educators, thereby ensuring the delivery of quality education to students in the area.

Kaieteur News understands that residents of Monkey Mountain expressed their deep gratitude, anticipation and appreciation for the new school and the relief it will bring to their families. It was reported too that the residents chose to let their current Grade Six children be educated in the community pending the completion of the school.

A resident from the community expressed, “Now that we will have a brand-new secondary school constructed right in our village, our children will be able to get educated from the nursery level right up to secondary and I can speak for most parents when I say that we can now die happily seeing the development of our village.”

Kaieteur News had reported on Sunday that the NPTAB awarded $407.6 million in contracts for the construction of Monkey Mountain and Kopinang Secondary Schools in Region Eight.

As reported previously, the ministry has embarked on an aggressive programme to ensure that the nation’s children have access to secondary education by constructing several secondary schools across the country.

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