Oronoque gets new $25M education office

Students of Matarkai, Region One (Barima-Waini) are now expected to deliver higher pass rates while educators will be able to function efficiently with the commissioning of a new $25M education office in the community of Oronoque.

The building was built to accommodate two education officers, two school welfare officers, staff from the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and other support staff from the Department of Education.

It was commissioned on Sunday by Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Sonia Parag. She was accompanied by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal.

Before the establishment of the structure, the staff of the Department of Education were housed in the Regional Administration’s conference room. There, they were faced with space constraints.

The new facility will be used as a hub to ensure that education delivery is enhanced so that every community in the region will experience better education delivery.

Delivering remarks at the commissioning ceremony, Croal said the region’s population is growing and to respond to this, the government has been working to ensure that the resources needed for the delivery of the services are prioritized.

The establishment of the new building forms part of the government’s effort to ensure every child has access to quality education.

To this end, Croal said Cabinet last week approved the fast tracking for the extension to some schools in Region One.

“We are ensuring that we are quickly having 100 per cent access to universal secondary education.

“More responsibilities, yes, but we want to see our students attending school and getting better grades. We are investing in teachers, we are investing in facilities, we need you to do your part,” he noted.

Meanwhile, in her remarks, Parag said the government is working to strengthen the education system by ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place.

“We want to bring that everywhere because everywhere there are children and our children deserve access to education and a system that we can have the best teachers so that they can carry out their function,” Parag said.

The building was constructed by AAV Ragobeer and Sons Contracting Services.