QC students call for major rehabilitation of school

Students and teachers of Guyana’s premier learning high school are contending that some of the schools’ facilities are in a deplorable state.
Queen’s College (QC), a prominent learning institution, which churns out outstanding students at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) examinations, is said to be in need of a facelift to its archaic structures.
Guyana Times was informed that some of the structural components of the institution require rehabilitations so as to make it conducive for academic purposes. Presently, one of the main concerns is the condition of the Science laboratories, which have been described as “grimy”.
Sources at the school have revealed that with 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 dispatched to the school would comment on the state of the laboratories which are being 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 they’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.
“We’re not complaining about the facilities, but we know that it can be better so that the lives of the children can be made easier because many times their spirits are daunted when they come to the lab. It’s not really an excitement to come to the lab because it’s a bit outdated.”
Additionally, the school field is invaded with shrubs and unwanted bushes for the past three years which makes it impossible for the athletes to train. As such, the inter-house sports are usually held at the Guyana Cricket Board (GCC) ground.
“Most of our exceptional athletes have been missing their field for the last three years. We had to have sports at GCC rather than use our field,” they stated.
For the vast number of subjects that are being offered by the institution along with the growing population, additionally classrooms are also a necessity.
Meanwhile, this publication was told that majority of the support that the institution has received over the years was from the alumni chapters, which are located in different parts of the world. The refurbishment of computer labs and supplying of equipment in the past are courtesy of these chapters which have been listed as the driving forces behind the functioning of the school.