$11M allocated to QC rehabilitation

Following reports in Guyana Times of the facilities and other infrastructure of Queen’s College being in a dilapidated state, education officers from the Department of Education along with an engineer appointed by the Education Ministry have visited the school.
Coming out of the visit, assessments were made, which exposed that the institution is in need of a facelift.
Following an inspection, it was announced that the structure will be subjected to routine repairs and maintenance works, which are needed. Additionally, the roofs of the east and west wing and the administrative building will be repaired. Maintenance is also scheduled for the playground which has been invaded by bushes.
The science lab, which was considered by the teachers as “not conducive” to lab experiments, will be repainted, cupboards will be installed, and the dilapidated walls and ceilings will be repaired.
With these rehabilitative works set to commence in the August vacation, a decision was made to allocate $11 million for the works that are pending.
This publication had reported earlier that students and teachers were raising complaints about the difficulties which they face on a daily basis, as a result of poor structural facilities. Calls were made for the labs to be redone, which was one of the main challenges being faced by Guyana’s premier institution.
Sources had revealed that in respect to the quality of students that are produced every year, the institution requires at least one state-of-the art laboratory.
“Structurally, we think that the lab should be done over. In terms of the quality of students and the calibre of the examination practical component, we definitely need a state-of-the-art lab because this is not conducive to lab experiments,” a source stated.
It was revealed that in the past, moderators that were dispatched to the school would comment on the state of the laboratories utilised by the students.
“It’s not that we are totally responsible for the practical part. We have an external moderator that has to come to check how the labs were conducted. Every year they come to check how we’re conducting our labs and there’re always comments about how they thought the lab was much better than it is.”
While it was stated that they try to make do with the necessary resources that are available in the laboratories, the walls and other sections are unadorned with diagrams due to the fact that the walls are gradually crumbling.
Additionally, the unmaintained playgrounds were one of the main reasons that their sports activities were diverged to the Guyana Cricket Club (GCC) Ground.
With the decision to rehabilitate the structural aspects of the school, students and teachers will be able to perform effectively without any disturbances.