Thirty-three High Schools to be Expanded

The Government will be creating additional classroom space at the secondary level through the expansion of 33 institutions across the island during the 2014/15 fiscal year.

Minister of Education, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, who made the announcement on Wednesday, January 29, said that the prefabricated construction method will be utilized, which is significantly cheaper than conventional processes.

He said that the move is part of continued measures to eliminate the shift system in schools, even while recognising the tight fiscal space in which the Government has to operate.

The Minister was addressing the dedication and opening ceremony for the Belair High School in Mandeville, Manchester. Once a private institution, Belair became a grant-aided school in September.

Some $40 million was spent to build eight additional classrooms and other facilities at the school, using the prefabricated system, for the accommodation of more students. There are currently 356 students on roll.

“In time, we want this institution to be built out to a 1, 200 to 1, 500 secondary school of the highest order in the parish of Manchester,” the Minister said.

“Belair, as a public school, must be better than it has been as a private institution,” he stated, while urging the school board to continue the involvement of the wider community in making the school a place of high achievement and accountability.