Sod turned for Karaudarnau secondary school

– as Shulinab Village to get $350M secondary school

The hinterland villages of Karaudarnau and Shulinab, nestled in the South Central Rupununi of Region Nine, are to benefit from transformative investments in education.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, along with Karaudarnau Toshao Apollos Isaacs and others, on Wednesday turned the sod for a new secondary school in Karaudarnau that will also serve the villages of Bashaizon and Achiwib, along with any other nearby community that wants to attend the school.
According to Minister Manickchand, the school will also house a laboratory, small dorm and cafeteria.
The village Toshao expressed his gratitude for the timely construction of the school which he said would help both students and parents avoid the long travelling and costs.

It was revealed that the community had reached out to Government for a school in the village to help reduce the daily transportation, and in response, the new school has been earmarked.
Minister Manickchand noted that Government is committed to universal access to education, giving students across the hinterland, educational options they never had before.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, it was announced that another construction initiative will give rise to a brand-new secondary school at Shulinab Village, complete with all critical infrastructure needed to support both learners and teachers in one of Guyana’s most remote communities.
A total of 20 construction contracts have been awarded to facilitate the development of this new facility, which includes dormitories, sanitary blocks, teachers’ quarters, dining and kitchen areas, electrical works, water storage systems, a tarmac, perimeter fencing, and the school buildings themselves.
These contracts were awarded through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), in full compliance with Guyana’s Procurement Laws and Regulations, ensuring transparency, competitiveness, and value for public funds.
This development signals the Government of Guyana’s continued commitment to closing the gap between hinterland and coastland education. For decades, students in places like Shulinab have faced limited access to secondary education, often having to travel long distances or leave their communities entirely in order to attend school.
The construction work will be carried out by a number of contractors who were successful through the national competitive bidding process, with the project estimated to be completed in about 6-8 months.
The schools in Shulinab and Karaudarnau mark a major development milestone for generations of students. It’s part of a broader push by the Ministry to ensure that every child in Guyana, no matter where they are born, has access to quality education.
Currently, the Government of Guyana is undertaking the construction of more than 40 new secondary schools across the country as part of its unwavering commitment to improving access to education at every level.
This national effort is particularly focused on the hinterland regions, where the aim is to achieve Universal Secondary Education by ensuring that indigenous and remote communities are no longer left behind.
In Region One, five secondary schools are either under construction or recently completed. Hosororo, Kwebanna, Waramuri, and Matthew’s Ridge are all in progress, while the North West Secondary School has already been completed and commissioned.
Region Six is seeing the addition of a new secondary school at Orealla, bringing secondary education closer to the riverine communities of the region.
In Region Seven, four secondary schools at Jawalla, Issano, Karrau, and Phillipai are being built to serve children from several Indigenous communities that previously relied on primary-top schools or had no access at all to secondary education.
Region Eight is also benefitting significantly, with new secondary schools being developed at Micobie, Monkey Mountain, and Kopinang. Each of these institutions is designed to include learning environments in some of the most remote areas of the country.
Region Nine has already seen the successful commissioning of Katoka and Yupukari Secondary Schools, both of which are now fully operational. Additional schools are currently under construction at Maruranau, Nappi, Tabatinga, Karasabai, Massara, Karaudarnau, and most recently, Shulinab. These projects are vital in reducing the distances students must travel to access education and in building a future where every child in Region Nine has access to a complete secondary education close to home.