$434M Waramuri Secondary School commissioned

Aug 14, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News – President Irfaan Ali and Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand on Wednesday commissioned the newly constructed Waramuri Secondary School in Region One.

The sod for the construction of the new school was turned back in June 2024 and the project was executed by Trevon David Construction Services, who won the contract for $326,598,400. With furnishing and additional resources for school, the project cost has increased to approximately $434 million.

The new secondary school is designed to accommodate approximately 400 students and will feature state-of-the-art classrooms, science laboratories, a library, and sports facilities.

The Waramuri Secondary School is one of six schools built or is building in Region One; with the others namely at North West, Kwebanna, Matthews Ridge, Horosoro and recently Manawarin.

Delivering the featured address said his government is investing in education to improve their efficiency in business. “Today our education system is not only catering for our children, but giving our teenagers, giving our young people and giving every segment of our population an opportunity to be educated, regardless of their age, and to contribute to the development of our country.”

“That is the development of women entrepreneurs. We’re investing in financial education; we’re investing so that we can have a more efficient population that can enjoy the full fruits of their labour,” the president said.

He went on to note that secondary education is important because it is about preparing young people for the journey of life. “It is about that important step that gives you the opportunity to realise your true and full potential. So today, whether you want to be a trained teacher, a doctor, a nurse, a pharmacist, an engineer, agriculturalist, a technician, whatever you want to do, know that this government will invest so you can achieve it,” he told residents.

Attending the commissioning also, was Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett who expressed the opportunities the new school will bring to the young people of Waramuri and surrounding communities.

Hailing from Santa Rosa, Region One, Rodrigues-Birkett recalled that back in her younger days she did not have the opportunity to access a secondary school as children of today.

“When I look at Waramuri Secondary School this is the present, but this is also about the future that any child in this community now can dream, not of being a mother of five children only, but being a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, a nurse, an entrepreneur, a farmer, anything and you will be able to get that education right here.”

“And so, we must not forget this journey, and I see many of the older people here are happy that now their grandchildren could dream of being the president one day, the Minister of Education, Minister of Water, because this here is not just a building, this is where professions will be born, this is where ambitions will start to be realized,” she added.

Meanwhile, Minister Manickchand said that it was a historic day for the village, since the modern school will allow children to become whatever they want to be. “The school will allow your children equal opportunity, even as they enjoy your love and food and guidance,” she noted.

Relating to access to education, the minister revealed over the last three and a half years in this country, 67 nursery schools have been built across the country, 45 primary schools have been constructed and they have built, or are building, 42 secondary schools.

Specifically to Region One, she noted that seven nursery schools were built, 16 primary schools, and have built, or are building, six secondary schools in the region.

She also highlighted the number of initiatives and programmes her government has executed over the years to improve the quality of education in Guyana. Part of this, she mentioned is that the same benefits the children on the coast are receiving, the same if being given to the hinterland and that includes textbooks and learning materials they need.

Additionally, she mentioned that her government is investing heavily in ensuring all teachers are trained, with the goal of having all teachers in the hinterland trained by 2026. With over 9,000 teachers trained across the country, the minister pointed out that the number of trained teachers in the hinterland has increased from 43 per cent in 2020 to now 86 per cent.

“We told you we wanted to increase quality by making sure we trained all your teachers, and that we train more teachers, and that any young person who had the qualification to be trained would be trained by you,” she added.

This publication understands that the new secondary school will serve students from Waramuri, Haimacabra, Para, and Pimpler Creek.

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• commissioned, Secondary School, Trevon David Construction Services, Waramuri

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