Demolition works commence on former Christianburg Primary School

In preparation for the commencement of the construction of a new school building, demolition works have commenced on the dilapidated Christianburg Primary School building in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice).

The Regional Democratic Council (RDC) is tasked with the reconstruction works. Councillors recently voted unanimously to commence the reconstruction of the school, by first demolishing the former structure which has been abandoned for years before erecting a new building.
The school is expected to be rebuilt at a cost of more than $40 million, Deputy Regional Executive Officer (DREO), Maylene Stephen had indicated.
The RDC has finally made strides in securing funds to rebuild the dilapidated school, which has been closed since 2015.
Despite concerns raised in the past over the condition of the school’s present location, Regional Chairman Renis Morian said it would be rebuilt on the same site.
The school, which was one of the first to be built in the Linden community, had begun to sink and structurally deteriorate, rendering it dangerous for the growing numbers of students to continue to be housed at the facility.
Several engineers have, over the years, visited the site to conduct tests to determine whether it was still suitable to rebuild at the location, as officials had noted that owing to issues such as drainage, the school had sunk tremendously over the years.
This, they explained, had intensified owing to the presence of ponds in the area.
Following the school’s closure, students have been housed at the St Aidan’s Primary School at Blueberry Hill, Wismar, Linden.
The move has reportedly had some negative effects on both students and teachers, as outlined by members of the Parent-Teacher’s Association (PTA) who had stressed that the distance they had to travel was too much, contributing to high transportation and extra meal costs, coupled with overcrowding among other negative issues.
However, the Regional Chairman has since indicated that parents in the area were now very happy that the school would be rebuilt.
Regional Education Committee Chairman Denise Belgrave had months ago questioned the adequacy of the school’s location, as it related to the number of students as she indicated that enrolment would have since increased.
The Regional Chairman has pointed out, however, that based on assessments which were carried out, the number of students were declining as a result of persons migrating to Amelia’s Ward, Linden as he noted that the area was suitable.
But Belgrave has indicated that the number of students has been fluctuating over a specific period.