Sod turned for $208M Monkey Mountain Secondary School

In a significant step towards enhancing educational opportunities in Guyana’s hinterland, the sod was on Monday turned for the construction of the $208 million Monkey Mountain Secondary School, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).
This initiative is part of a broader effort by the government to expand access to secondary education across the country, aligning with its ambitious goal to achieve universal secondary education by 2025.
The project, which is part of a larger allocation of $407 million for the construction of secondary schools in Region Eight, signifies a crucial investment in the educational infrastructure of the area.
The new school will cater to the educational needs of students from Monkey Mountain, Taruka and Tusseneng. In addition, it will also comprise a teachers’ quarters and a small dormitory for the children of Taruka and Tusseneng.
Further, this contract includes facilities such as laboratories, an Information Technology lab, and a library, ensuring that students have access to modern learning resources upon completion. The training of teachers is currently ongoing and more teachers were identified to begin training for instruction at the secondary level.

The construction contract, valued at $208,282,809, has been awarded to K’s Trucking & Construction Service, as announced by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), under the public advertisements in the newspapers and the World Wide Web.
Minister Manickchand during the sod-turning ceremony highlighted the importance of the new school, stating that it will alleviate the burden on existing educational facilities such as Paramakatoi by accommodating an average of 250 secondary-aged children.
Currently, students from these communities have had to travel significant distances to access secondary education, often facing logistical challenges due to the limited availability of schools in the region

Manickchand, however, underscored the holistic approach of the project, mentioning that alongside the school, provisions will be made for teachers’ quarters to accommodate staff, given the remote location of Monkey Mountain.
This measure aims to attract and retain qualified educators, thereby ensuring the delivery of quality education to students in the area.
Residents of Monkey Mountain expressed their deep gratitude, anticipation, and appreciation for the new school and the relief it will bring to their families. The residents chose to let their current grade six children be educated in the community pending the completion of the school.
In addition to Monkey Mountain, secondary schools are being constructed in Micobie and Kopinang while dorm facilities and schools are being significantly upgraded at Paramakatoi and Kato.