New $421 million annex to accommodate more students at St. Joseph High

A new annex with wheelchair access, additional classrooms and improved laboratories will be built at St. Joseph High School, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.

The $421 million annex, funded by the World Bank and supported by the Ministry of Education, is part of a wider push to ease overcrowding and expand secondary education access, while also catering to students and teachers with disabilities. Two wheelchair-using grade seven students at will be among the first to benefit from a new 22,360-square-foot annex.

Students – both present and past – were alongside the school’s teachers and officials for the ceremonial groundbreaking at the school’s patio on Wednesday.

Principal Tulsidai Raghubansi said the project, first conceived in discussions with then Education Minister Priya Manickchand, and then principal Nathram Raghubansi, addresses the cramped classrooms and a lack of dedicated space for practical subjects.

“It is a day that we have been waiting for quite a long time. It is not only turning this sod, but it is renewing investment in our students, in our students’ dreams, in their aspirations,” Raghubansi said.

The two-storey annex, expected to be completed within 10 months, will add 10 classrooms along with dedicated spaces for physics, biology, agricultural science, the arts, home management and counseling. It will accommodate 250 additional students, complementing the more than 500 currently enrolled.

Raghubansi said the facility is being built with inclusion at its core, incorporating wheelchair-accessible infrastructure for the two students currently enrolled in grade seven, as well as for future students and staff.

The project falls under the Guyana Strengthening Human Capital Through Education project, with funding of $421,241,700 and a deadline to accommodate students in early 2027.

First Lady Arya Ali, a St. Joseph alumna, said the school has groomed responsible, strong characters, and that investments like this one will lay the groundwork to develop more well-rounded students.

“This investment exemplifies our dedication to strengthening education and ensuring that every child has access to quality learning environments,” Mrs. Ali said.

The First Lady also said that the space for counseling and a sick bay spark confidence in the school’s ability to provide support for student’s development in every area.

Education Minister Sonia Parag urged students to see the construction as an investment in their futures, encouraging them to pursue careers as engineers, agricultural scientists, and chemical engineers who could support the country’s oil sector.

“We’re building here to ensure that you build your leadership skills, and to build all the skills that you need to go into this world and make a better place for yourself,” Parag said.