Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 05, 2015 News
– Opening rescheduled to January
Government says a Region Eight school is likely not to be ready in September, with final costs expected to reach $1B.
A Government Information Agency (GINA) release yesterday said that the opening of the Kato Secondary School has been rescheduled to January 2016. This is to facilitate the school being fully furnished and handed over to the Ministry of Education.
According to Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Delma Nedd, the building is “practically completed,” but it has not yet been handed over to the Ministry.
Additionally, the school has not yet been staffed.
The Ministry has advertised for contractors to tender for the supply of furniture, but the contract has not yet been awarded.
Nedd advised that she and a team are expected to visit the school before the end of the month.
Construction of the Kato Secondary School came as a result of the growing hinterland population in that community. Parents, students and teachers had complained of overcrowding and lack of access to secondary education in Region Eight. The school will cater for children from communities including Kato, Kurukubaru, and Monkey Mountain.
“The main structure of the school was estimated to cost $780M, but the additional cost of furnishing, lighting, fencing, and security was expected to take the final figure to around $1B,” according to the statement.
The Kato project has been one of the largest infrastructural projects that has been embarked upon by the Ministry of Education in terms of cost and was launched by the previous administration. A $728,263,485 contract was signed in December 2012 with Kares Engineering Inc., a construction firm. The work commenced April 2013 and was slated to be completed in April 2015.
The previous Government insisted that all was above board with the cost and the region needed the school as there was severe overcrowding. The project had been classified as a “super structure” that will house the secondary school with adjoining administrative block, teachers’ quarters and students dormitory complete with dining area, lobby, sleeping area, laundry room, and accommodation for dorm wardens, kitchen, and sanitary facilities.
The school is slated to accommodate 12 classrooms, industrial arts department, canteen, two science laboratories, computer laboratory, home economics and agriculture departments, facilities for differently-able persons, visual arts, sanitary blocks, two multi-purpose rooms, library and research area.
The ministry had said that the location of the school in Kato was chosen because of its proximity to a nearby river that flows into a waterfall that will be used to construct a hydroelectric project that will power the community and by extension, the school.
The engineer’s estimate for the project was $680,200,431 but Kares Engineering’s lowest bid was chosen.
Justifying the cost, the Ministry had said that the contracting firm has utilised timber, sand and stone from within Region Eight. However, cement and other hardware had to be transported by trail and air from Georgetown into Kato by the contractor.
“I don’t know if you would have visited it, but I think if you are given the opportunity to see how remote the area is and how difficult it would be to get all of the necessary elements in; I think that my discussions with our Buildings Manager really suggest to me, that this is quite a feat getting a secondary school built in that area and getting everything in,” said Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam, in responding to questions about the project.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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