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Education ministry spent over $31B on infrastructure in four years – Min. Manickchand
Kaieteur News- Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand on Friday disclosed that since the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government took office in 2020, her ministry spent approximately $31.5 billion on the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of schools across the country.
Manickchand was at the time speaking at her ministry’s end-of-year-press conference held at the National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD) boardroom, Kingston, Georgetown.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand at her ministry’s end-of-year press conference on Friday. (Education ministry spent over $31B)
Speaking about education infrastructure in her presentation, the minister related, “Infrastructure development we have spent over the last four years, 2020 to 2024, we spent $31,529,228,360.”
The minister said that $13 billion was spent on the construction of new school buildings, $7 billion on reconstruction works, $8B on major extensions and $2B on major rehabilitation works.
Noting that these sums cover projects across all regions, minister Manickchand noted that in Region One, $817 million was spent; Region Two, $3.56 billion; Region Three, $3.5 billion; Region Four, $8.3 billion; Region Five, $897 million; Region Six, $751 million; Region Seven, $2.4 billion; Region Eight, $1.8 billion; Region Nine, $2.8 billion; Region 10, $825 million, and Georgetown approximately $5.3 billion was spent on schools.
The education minister explained that the government invested in the infrastructure to ensure that school-aged children across the country can attend school in comfort and without impediments.
“When I came in (to office), Superintendent of Exams, Saudia Kadir said to me, you are going to have some problems and she said we are about to announce these results and we don’t have about 3,000 spaces for children in Georgetown and Region Three, we don’t have it,” the minister said.
It was due to this, tents were set up, buildings were rented and community centers used to accommodate students.
“That is not a place we want to be, that is not a place we need to be in and we are not people who wring our hands. We are people who find solutions,” Manickchand added.
Speaking on some of the interventions made in infrastructure so far, the minister said within the four-year period, her ministry has undertaken 37 secondary school projects across the country. This she said increases the figure from 116, which was the existing number of secondary schools in Guyana up to 2020.
“According to the United Nations, we have achieved universal primary education. Although we have that, we are looking to make sure we either rebuild where necessary but also looking to build new primary schools where none existed. We have gotten a complete assessment of where we need nursery schools and are also feverishly working on trying to bring in universal nursery education,” she told reporters.
Kaieteur News understands that in Region One, the ministry is building and reconstructing five secondary schools that will include dormitories and teachers’ quarters.
In Region Two, the Cotton Field Secondary is being rebuilt; in Region Three, schools are being built at Nismes and Tuschen. In Region Four, the Good Hope Secondary and the Yarrowkabra Secondary have been completed while they are currently building schools at Prospect and Kaneville on the East Bank of Demerara.
With no new secondary schools needed in Region Five, the ministry is looking at providing transportation for students. In Region Six, a new secondary school is being built at Orealla Village, while in Region Seven, four new schools are being constructed at Phillipai, Jawalla, Issano, and Karrau.
Meanwhile, in Region Eight secondary schools are being built at Kopinang, Micobie and Monkey Mountain and in Region Nine, there will be seven new facilities.
Further, in Region 10, the ministry is building a secondary school at Wairuni with the Hururu School recently completed. In the Georgetown, a number of secondary schools are being rebuilt such as Christ Church, St. Mary’s and the recently commissioned St. George’s School of Science.
(Education ministry spent over $31B on infrastructure in four years – Min. Manickchand)
- 2020 to 2024, building schools, Minister Priya Manickchand, Ministry of Education, over $31 billion spent
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