MP Welcomes Project to Construct New Classrooms at Balaclava High

Member of Parliament for North East St. Elizabeth, Mr. Raymond Pryce, says he welcomes the construction of  eight  new classrooms at the Balaclava High School, which will lead to the institution being taken off the double shift system come September this year.

Bringing greetings at the ground-breaking ceremony at the school on May 14, Mr. Pryce pointed out that the project forms part of his pursuits for the upliftment of education in North East St. Elizabeth, where the school is located.

He said his determination to use education as a tool to improve the lives of his constituents was formed during his stint as an employee of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

“Many of my pursuits in this constituency for the upliftment of education came from the principles that I was taught to believe in and to reiterate when I served at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington,” Mr. Pryce said.

He noted that being from rural Jamaica has also given him the zest and zeal to work hard and to use education as a vehicle for upward mobility.

“The town in which I was born is not to be seen even on the map of Jamaica. Were it not for education…I would not have and I could not have become the Member of Parliament for this great constituency. Education is the hallmark of your Government and we believe that education is the greatest pursuit a Government can give to its people, because it’s the only thing, once you get it, you cannot lose it,” Mr. Pryce said.

He encouraged students of the school to continue to work hard and be committed to lift the standard of the institution, despite the challenges.

Mr. Pryce also had words of commendation for the teachers at the school, whom he described as the epitome of volunteers, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters of the students.

The classrooms will be constructed at a cost of $40 million, to be provided through a loan from the IDB.