$75M school dorm opens at Leonora

Children from riverine communities along the Essequibo Coast in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) will now be able to access a sound secondary education without having to travel long distances with the establishment of a new dormitory at Leonora, West Coast Demerara.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand commissioned the $75M facility on Monday.

The dormitory, which is situated aback the Leonora Secondary School, will be beneficial to students coming from the riverine areas on the Essequibo Coast and those desirous of seeking higher education.

The modern facility consists of living quarters for boys and girls, a kitchen, a dining area, a sick bay, washroom facilities and sleeping quarters. It will be supervised by a dorm mother and father.

Manickchand said the dormitory was constructed in keeping with recommendations made in a report conducted on dormitories across the country to ensure they are up to standard.

This, she said, includes the installation of fire prevention measures.

“We set about getting a report on all the dorms in the country, the status of the dorm and what would be ideal for these dorms…And so that report…that engineer assessed all the dorms and he told us what he needed and he also told us about the gaps at each dorm,” Manickchand said.

She added, “Immediately upon getting that report, I shared it with my other colleagues…and I laid it before Cabinet and Cabinet took a  decision that the dorms would be bought up to standard in accordance with this report but, of course, these things take time.”

The Education Minister said the intention is to ensure that every child is in a comfortable space where they are being accommodated while being able to learn.

Meanwhile, Regional Chairman, Inshan Ayube said before the dormitory was constructed, a number of factors were taken into consideration to ensure that parents would be able to visit their child/children at any time. The facility was also built in close proximity to a hospital, fire station and police station.

“…We believe in the environment, we believe that your children or child must be comfortable…That is why all this investment is being done and above all with the rapid development that is ongoing in our country…we have to educate our own to take up all these opportunities that is unfolded,” Ayube said.

Presently, 23 children will be housed at the dormitory – 18 boys and 5 girls.