Holmwood Technical High School to Get New $185m Classroom Block

In another 10 months, a new four-storey classroom block, estimated to cost $185 million, will be constructed at Holmwood Technical High School in Christiana, Manchester.

The new block will comprise 11 classrooms along with bathrooms, a staffroom and a lift for wheelchair users.

Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, on Thursday (August 3), broke ground for the development, which will be funded by the National Education Trust (NET).

The project is part of the Government’s Primary and Secondary Infrastructure Programme (PSIP) being implemented by the Education Ministry through NET.

It will see schools with the capacity to expand being facilitated in this regard to alleviate overcrowding by providing more classroom spaces, thereby enabling the discontinuation of the shift system at institutions now utilising this modality.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Minister Williams said the new classroom block would be a step towards providing students and teachers with an improved environment for instructional delivery, citing this as integral to the infrastructure development programme.

“Over the past seven years, the Government has undertaken a massive renovation and development programme in our public schools that has resulted in significantly improved learning environments for many of our students,” she noted.

Mrs. Williams indicated that she would continue to fulfil the mandate to improve school plants in a targeted, efficient and effective manner.

She commended Holmwood’s Principal and past students for their efforts at completing smaller scale work geared at improving the school over time.

Mrs. Williams assured them that the Ministry would do its part to ensure that maintenance work at the school is done in a timely manner to facilitate a comfortable environment for students and teachers.

This, she added, includes repairing the road leading to the school.

The chairlift for students using wheelchairs, or who have other disabilities, forms part of the Government’s response to recent queries about the welfare of disabled youngsters in schools.

“We have been providing ramps, safety rails and lifts in our schools. It’s a big project and, to date, 302 schools have been retrofitted. We will continue, year after year, to retrofit schools,” Mrs. Williams said.

Holmwood also received 58 state-of-the-art laptop computers for their information technology lab, while 90 per cent of the institution’s teachers have received devices.

This is part of the Government’s technology in education thrust to ensure that children are digitally literate, know how to use technology wisely and are comfortable doing so.

The school’s electrical system is also slated to be upgraded.

“What we are witnessing here today is a continuation of the commitment of the Government. This fiscal year, the budget for large infrastructure [projects] is $1.5 billion, and we will continue to get more to do the work that is needed in our school,” Mrs. Williams said.

Holmwood’s Principal, Hidran McKulsky, said the new block would enhance the quality of the school’s educational output.

“We have not had any expansion for the last 50 years. So, this… will go a far way in developing the talents in our youth,” he pointed out.

Mr. McKulsky said if the Ministry were to regulate the placement of students at grade seven, thereby placing them in schools like Holmwood, “we could see them removed from the shift system”.

The issue of the main road to the community is also being addressed through the erection of a perimeter fence around the school campus.

“We are not at any great risk from the community but we want to safeguard our students and account for them at all times,” the Principal said.

Meanwhile, Councillor for the Christiana Division, Desmond Harrison, who represented Manchester North Eastern Member of Parliament, Audley Shaw, urged Minister Williams to give consideration to constructing more classrooms at Christiana High School.

This, he said, in order to expedite the shift system’s removal from that institution.

“Please try to see if you can help the… school. We do have the [land] space. If we can increase the [classroom] space, it would help us tremendously,” Mr. Harrison said.