Sod turned for new $1.7B Cotton Field Secondary School

Education Minister Priya Manickchand on Wednesday turned the sod for the construction of a brand-new secondary school at Cotton Field on the Essequibo Coast in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

This is the second advanced school in the region to have been demolished in order to be reconstructed to meet contemporary educational standards. The new Cotton Field Secondary School will be constructed at a cost of $1.7 billion. The contract for the project was awarded to Builders Hardware, General Supplies and Construction, and the project is expected to be completed within an 18-month deadline.
Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony, Education Minister Priya Manickchand revealed that when the decision was made to reconstruct the school, extensive consultations with parents and teachers about the location of the new facility resulted in a consensus that the new school should be constructed on the same grounds as the existing Cotton Field Secondary School.
Highlighting that over 600 students would be relocated to facilitate the project, Minister Manickchand revealed, “We have decided that the school will stay right where it is. Now, there is a complication to that, or a consequence; and the consequence is (that) children cannot be in the school while we’re building a school. So, this entire school’s population – all 500 and something children, 636 children – have to be removed for 18 months while the school is being built.”
To ensure minimal disruption, students would be accommodated at nearby schools and colleges through a structured arrangement until the new facility is completed. On this point, Manickchand noted that it is important for the contactor to finish the project within the agreed timeframe.
“The contractor said he could do this, and we expect from the contractor all that he said he could do,” she explained.
Cotton Field Secondary follows the reconstruction of Abram Zuil Secondary, which are part of the Government’s strategic plan to modernize schools in Region Two.
Highlighting that Government has invested significantly in education on the Essequibo Coast over the last four years, Minister Manickchand declared, “You see the school that we’re trying to rebuild. This is, this would be, the second school that is going to be rebuilt completely; Abram Zuil being the first on the Essequibo Coast. But every single secondary school on the Essequibo Coast has been significantly rehabilitated, and all primary schools and nursery schools have also been fixed or rehabilitated.”
The minister added, “On this Essequibo Coast, we have connected schools to the internet, so that you could now go and do all kinds of research and quizzes like (what) you couldn’t do before because you didn’t have internet. We’ve provided buses; we have provided boats; we have provided, as I said, breakfast; so, we’re not only giving the cash grant.”
Regional Education Officer (REO) Shondelle Hercules has welcomed the project, and has noted that it would significantly enhance the learning environment in the region.
Regional Chairperson Vilma De Silva, a past student of the institution, has described the initiative as historic. Speaking on behalf of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), she commended the Government’s investment and urged the contractor to deliver the project on schedule.
Some $31 billion has been spent on infrastructural developments over the last four years. The Education Ministry has added 37 new secondary schools to the existing 116, and there are plans to deliver universal secondary education by the end of 2025.