In April, Education and Culture Minister Myron Walwyn posted on Facebook the above rendering of a new multi-purpose building he said will be constructed at the Elmore Stoutt High School. This month officials explained that funding will come from a $9 million loan from the Caribbean Development Bank. Graphic: PROVIDED

The Caribbean Development Bank announced last Thursday that it has approved a $9.28 million loan to support the territory’s education system.

In April, Education and Culture Minister Myron Walwyn posted on Facebook the above rendering of a new multi-purpose building he said will be constructed at the Elmore Stoutt High School. This month officials explained that funding will come from a $9 million loan from the Caribbean Development Bank. Graphic: PROVIDED
The money will pair with a $4.27 million investment from government, and is earmarked for a variety of purposes including special education, social support, school equipment upgrades and physical infrastructure development, according to a CDB press release.

In an interview with the Beacon this month, Education and Culture Minister Myron Walwyn (R-at large) broke down the CDB loan in greater detail.

“The $10 million investment, which we expect to access this year, will go primarily towards the Elmore Stoutt High School to assist with the plans in the separation of the junior and senior sides of the school, to upgrade our technical labs in the school, address the security issues like the wall, improve the entrances and so on,” Mr. Walwyn explained.

One of the loan’s biggest earmarks, he said, will be the construction a new auditorium at the ESHS campus.

In addition to hosting school assemblies and serving as a home for the school’s basketball team, the facility will serve various purposes, according to the minister.

“It has been designed so it can also become a performing arts centre and a cafeteria as well, so it’s a multifunctional building,” Mr. Walwyn said. “On the top of it will be the administration offices for teachers. Some additional classrooms will be on the top of it as well, inclusive of conference facilities. And at the bottom of it we’re doing a gym to support the physical education component that exists at the school.”

Mr. Walwyn said he hopes construction will start by October and be completed about about 2.5 years later.

However, a loan of that size will require approval from the House of Assembly, and no motion on the loan is listed on the schedule for next week’s HOA sitting.

Besides the ESHS building, the Ministry of Education and Culture plans to direct a portion of the funds towards upgrading equipment at the Virgin Islands School of Technical Studies, as well as making sure the school’s labs meet the standards of the Caribbean Examinations Council, the minister said.

The CDB press release added that both institutions will receive learning resources and assistive devices for students with special education needs.

SEE THE JULY 27, 2017 EDITION FOR FULL COVERAGE.

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