Tue | Dec 24, 2024

Education minister says expansion of Marlie Mount Primary crucial to learning

Published:Saturday | January 16, 2021 | 7:17 AM
From left: Calvin Harris, principal of Marlie Mount Primary School; Claris Brown, vice-chairman and past principal, Marlie Mount Primary; Everald Warmington, member of parliament, St Catherine South West; Fayval Williams, minister of education, youth and i
Ian Allen
From left: Calvin Harris, principal of Marlie Mount Primary School; Claris Brown, vice-chairman and past principal, Marlie Mount Primary; Everald Warmington, member of parliament, St Catherine South West; Fayval Williams, minister of education, youth and information; Omar Sweeney, managing director, JSIF, and Stephenson Matthews, supervisor at Millers Construction Company, participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of the infant department at Marlie Mount Primary in St Catherine. Ground was broken for the construction of new classroom blocks.

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Fayval Williams, says expansion of the Marlie Mount Primary and Infant School in St Catherine is pivotal to the success of the students.

Ground was broken on Thursday by Williams for the expansion of the institution’s infant department.

Already, a 10-classroom block has been constructed with funds from the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) as well as a $4.2-million contribution from the school. The entire project is estimated to cost $171 million.

“Development of the infrastructure of school plants is an important aspect of our overall investment in education, and we are pleased with this collaborative project with JSIF,” Williams said.

She noted that the additional classrooms will benefit more than 1,600 students to “participate better” in the learning process.

“We will continue to work together, so that all our children get access to the best education possible. Children need a healthy learning environment to perform at their best, so too the teachers who guide them,” she told her audience.

Member of Parliament for South West St Catherine, Everald Warmington, lauded JSIF for the investment, and the leadership of the school for its efforts to ensure that the project works for the students and the community.

Managing Director for JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said the project involves a “comprehensive” sanitising component, and “is a holistic package of investment that we have embarked on”.

For his part, principal of the school, Calvin Harris, said “this marks the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Marlie Mount Primary and also the beginning of seeing an end to the shift system, and overcrowding of classes”.