Pres. Ali commissions new $940.7M Christ Church Secondary

Two years after it was destroyed by fire, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali commissioned a brand-new million-dollar Christ Church Secondary School (CCSS) on its original site at Middle and Camp streets.

Built at a total cost of $940.7 million, the new secondary will serve more than 500 students. It comes equipped with 20 classrooms, eight modern laboratories that include science, IT, and industrial tech, as well as a library and a large auditorium with male and female change rooms.

It also features accessible male and female washrooms on each floor, staff rooms with lunch and shower facilities, a sick bay, storage rooms, and a canteen to support both learning and comfort. The new school is fully furnished and built with fire safety in mind. Smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and special materials have been installed throughout the building.

At the commissioning ceremony on Thursday, the president reminisced about the tragic destruction of the old school when it was deliberately set on fire. This act, he said, not only destroyed decades of memories but also disrupted the academic journey of its students.

And “today, with hearts full of pride and eyes lifted toward promise, we declare without hesitation and without apology, Christ Church is back and back in business, the business of education, empowerment and enlightenment,” he declared to a loud round of applause.Touching on the significance of secondary education, the president highlighted that 250 million school-age children globally are out of school, with 14 per cent of lower-secondary and 30 per cent of upper-secondary youth missing out on an education.

These statistics represent lost futures and wasted potential, and Guyana must rise above this reality. Already, Guyana is making strides, President Ali said, citing his government’s continued investment and promising to deliver universal secondary education by 2026.

“If Guyana is to be taken seriously on the world stage, if we are to be more than a resource-rich nation, then universal secondary education must not just be a goal. It must be a given,” he underscored before stating, “That is why we are making the enormous investments we are making to ensure universal access to secondary education.“

President Ali said the government is incentivising teacher training by offering additional allowances and career development opportunities through free tertiary education at the University of Guyana (UG) and through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).

The president also highlighted that 40 new or extended secondary schools are currently under construction or rehabilitation nationwide, with hundreds more being enhanced through improved labs and practical instruction centres.