More EBD children to access full secondary education as new schools advance

Children residing along the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) corridor will soon access comprehensive secondary education as construction advances on new secondary schools there.

The completion of the Prospect Secondary and the Kaneville Secondary Schools will accommodate hundreds of students, enabling them to further their education and sit the Caribbean Secondary Examinations Certificate (CSEC) exams.

The ongoing works at Diamond Secondary will further bolster the government’s efforts to ensure that every child can achieve self-enhancement and certification.

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand recently announced this development and emphasised the government’s aim to deliver quality secondary education nationwide.

She cited the Yarrowkabra Secondary School on the east bank corridor, as a prime example of the impact of these initiatives on school attendance.

According to the minister, the institution has undergone tremendous expansion “Because more children want to come to the school on the highway. A place where we have always had trouble retaining children in secondary school.”

She further highlightedthe role of the new and upgraded schools in eliminating the existence of “primary tops” on the East Bank.

Primary tops are institutions formed due to a lack of secondary schools in an area. These schools re-enroll students who completed their National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and educate them to a Grade Eight level.

However, these institutions cannot equip students with a well-rounded secondary education or the ability to write CSEC examinations.

In response, the government has expended billions to establish secondary schools nationwide.

Significant progress has also been made on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), where all primary tops were closed. Students from these schools were then enrolled in newly established secondary schools.

In 2023, approximately 480 students of former primary tops in Paradise, Enterprise and Enmore were given seats at the Good Hope Secondary School.

Minister Manickchand said this achievement was the result of good governance and a “genuine” desire to empower the nation’s children.

“That is the beauty of good service. That is the beauty of a caring government. It’s not about us. It’s what will happen to those children who now have a chance to go to school,” she said.

With the ministry’s numerous online learning platforms and interactive training sessions, students are now more eager to learn.