The opening of the first sixth form block along the East Bank corridor marks a monumental opportunity for students intending to pursue the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exams (CAPE).
On Thursday, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand commissioned a new $95 million sixth-form block at the Diamond Secondary School, along with a new administrative block that was previously destroyed by fire in 2018.
The new building is outfitted with six classrooms which can accommodate up to 30 students each, while the administrative block provides a comfortable staff-room for administrators, a well-equipped library and an Information Technology lab with 40 stations.
This facility will offer 16 CAPE subjects, giving students easy access to various subjects and saving them a long trip to Georgetown and money.
During her feature address at the opening ceremony, Minister Priya Manickchand emphasised the importance of this significant investment for the advancement of education in Guyana.
“The entire auditorium was being used as classrooms, which is not optimal. That’s why we took the decision to build a new block,” the minister explained.
She further elaborated that this new facility is the fourth of its kind to be commissioned within the past five years. The others are located at Anna Regina, Rosignol and West Bank Demerara Secondary.
“You need to have a desire to help children and you need people who will drive the programme,” Minister Manickchand stated.
Many students are already envisioning entering their brand new classrooms in September.
Renola Joordan, a former student of the Diamond Secondary School spoke to the Department of Public Information (DPI) and expressed her excitement for the new facility. She said her pursuit of CAPE studies in September has just gotten easier.
“My friends and I are interested in doing CAPE here because of the closeness to where we live, and we are more comfortable with the teachers here,” Joordan stated.
As part of the Ministry’s efforts to continuously provide access to advanced secondary education, other major investments on the East Bank of Demerara are currently ongoing. Secondary schools are under construction at Kanevill and Prospect, while expansions are underway at Yarrowkabra and Soesdyke Secondary.
Across the country, 42 secondary schools have been constructed over the past five years, while some are still under construction.
The massive investments in education form part of the government’s mandate to provide quality education to all children across the country.
