For the first time since the St Cuthbert’s Mission Secondary School was established, its students will be able to make full use of electricity following the installation of a 6.2kW solar system by the Hinterland Electrification Company Inc (HECI).
The 24 solar panels were installed just before the school closed in December 2016
The 24 solar panels installed on the roof of the StCuthbert’s Mission Secondary School
for the Christmas holidays and the upcoming school term will see the 126 enrolled students fully reaping the benefits of the new system. The new system was installed at the cost of some $8.7 million.
Current Headmaster of St Cuthbert’s Mission Secondary, Orlando Shuman, shared his excitement over the potential the new system held. He explained that the school is now able to tap into facilities that were previously inaccessible. While electricity is present in the community, it typically becomes available from 06:00h to 22:00h daily, outside of school hours.
“From an administrative standpoint, this (electricity) helps me to be more efficient,” Shuman said, while adding that “generally, there has been a big difference. People are now looking at the school as going somewhere.”
He further added that with electricity, the school will finally be able to have an electronic filing system and the ability to better manage its student records. He said too that teachers now have improved morale.
“Some have even suggested we get a percolator… It’s made our environment comfortable and more enthusiastic,” he asserted.
Moreover, Shuman foresees big benefits for the upcoming Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) students. He indicated that, previously, the CSEC students had encountered difficulties in completing their School Based Assessments (SBAs), since most had no access to computers and Internet.
Now, an enthused Shuman said the students will finally be able to make use of the school’s computer laboratory, which housed 18 unused computer systems since their acquisition more than two years ago. He added that with the use of computers, the classes at the school would become much more interactive.
Thanking the HECI for its intervention, Shuman said, “It’s amazing to see something like this come to fruition so quickly. I feel it’s a step in the right direction.”
Meanwhile, HECI also extended the community’s electricity network to better service its residents. While some residents would have had power systems already installed, the electricity provided was often of low voltage. Therefore, HECI installed additional transformers and overall, upgraded the network.
This upgrade has seen six new households being added to the network. Additionally, the 1200 homes in the community already on the network will benefit from better electricity.
The Indigenous community was identified by HECI due to its rapid growth in recent years and the need for an improved supply of electricity.
