Hartland Basic School in St. Mary to be Upgraded

The Hartland Basic School in St. Mary is to be upgraded with assistance from the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF).
A contract for the project was signed between the JSIF and the Hartland Benevolent Society at a ceremony held at the school on August 30. The work is scheduled to begin within two weeks.
The project, which will last for three months, will be implemented at a cost of $9.5 million. The scope of the work will include roof repairs, the provision of improved sanitary facilities for both boys and girls, the installation of cupboards in the kitchen, and the erection of a sick bay, a designated playing area and a new fence around the school.
As part of its obligations under the contract, the JSIF will also provide the school with furniture and amenities, including a teacher’s desk and chair, one metal cabinet, one cot for the sick bay, and some equipment for the playing area.
In her address at the ceremony, Managing Director of the JSIF, Scarlette Gillings, said her organization was pleased to be associated with the project, as early childhood education and its development has always been an integral part of the strategy it uses to fulfil its mandate of poverty alleviation.
She said it was therefore no surprise that the organization had approved 224 early childhood projects at a total cost of $1 billion up to May of this year.
Mrs. Gillings noted that during its 10 years of existence, the JSIF has contributed to improving the quality of learning for the country’s children by addressing pressing issues, such as over-crowding and the lack of adequate teaching space.
She added that basic school sub-projects had accounted for 26 per cent of the organization’s total project portfolio, benefiting 32,725 children.
The Managing Director said that the organization has so far approved 898 projects across the country at a cost of $4.5 billion. These projects included agricultural feeder roads, health facilities, places of safety, sanitation, agro-processing and skills training, among others.
Congratulating members of the Hartland Benevolent Society for the role it has played to make the project a reality, she encouraged the wider community to give their full support to the project and do all they could to ensure that it is completed on time and within budget.