Youths living in Bartica and nearby communities in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) will soon have easier access to a more comfortable and modern living environment which will facilitate them throughout their secondary education Journey.
On Monday Education Minister Priya Manickchand travelled to the town of Bartica to kickstart the distribution of the “Because We Care” cash grant. During her stay in the town the Minister also visited the Bartica Secondary School dormitory, a key piece of infrastructure which will transform the lives of residents in the region.
Current Bartica Secondary school dorm
Speaking to members of the media during a site visit to the new facility, Minister Manickchand reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment towards ensuring the living environment for students align with international standards. On this point the Minister highlighted that to date, the Ministry has invested over half a billion dollars to improve dorm facilities in the region.
“The brand-new Bartica secondary dorm that we’re dormitory that we’re putting up so this is costing us just over 423 million dollars not just this but this and the rehabilitation of the old dorms and the purpose of this along with the rehabilitation at 370 million dollars of the three miles secondary.”
Education Minister Priya Manickchand
The Minister added, “So close to a billion dollars in the rehabilitation of dorms is to give us the standard determined by dean and associates at all dorms across the country that are of international standards not only space wise but regarding safety issues and ventilation and light and all the other things children need in a dormitory, number of washrooms proportionate to the number of children etc.”
The $470 million contract, awarded to Dijiris Engineering and Construction, covers the rehabilitation of the existing dormitory—which has already been completed—and the construction of a brand-new dormitory building, where significant progress has already been made on the structure.
New Bartica Secondary School dorm building
According to Manickchand these facilities come at a crucial point in the country’s education development as the Ministry pushes to achieve universal secondary education in Guyana.
“Even as we do this, we are building a secondary school with a small dorm and teachers’ quarters at Jawalla at Phillipai at Issano and at Karrau for so that we could bring in universal secondary education in Region Seven which is a promise we made and which as you know ethical, it’s our duty to make sure every child here in this region could get a discreet secondary education right in their region.”
The Education Ministry’s 2025 budget sets aside an impressive $36.2 billion for the construction and rehabilitation of educational facilities across Guyana.
