Government said that it hopes to build a new purpose-built primary school in George Town to replace the current facility. Education Minister Hon Alden McLaughlin told the Legislative Assembly recently that the plan for the school would be achieved within the government’s elected term.

Cayman Net News recently reported on the dilapidated state of the existing school, (1 November) and the concerns among the parents of students who were calling on the Government to do something about the property on which their children are being educated.

One parent, who prefered to remain anonymous, disclosed that certain parts of the school were destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, but so far, no attempts have been made by Government to repair it.

The Education Minister, had reportedly visited the school and met with the parents to discuss the issue.

He invited input from them, in terms of the way forward. He also threw a few options at them, one of them being the possible relocation of the school. But not many of the parents seem keen on that particular option.

“This school has been there for over 40 years, why would they want to relocate,” said one parent.

“All it needs is a good clean-up and some refurbishing,” she had said.

Speaking in the House about the state of education in the Cayman Islands and its supporting infrastructure, he said that all schools on the Islands are under tremendous difficulties, brought on either by a need for additional accommodation or the ageing structure of the buildings and other facilities.

The Governemnt has plans to build three new high schools, preliminary construction costs  which had been provided for in a $48.5 equity investment for the Ministry of Education during the 2006/7 financial year.

Following a query from Bodden Town MLA Osbourne Bodden over the employment of an ‘Educational Facilities Planner’ Mr McLaughlin said that the post was necessary to achieve the goals as set out in the National Consensus on the Future of Education in the Cayman Islands:

“We must manage the maintenance of schools and development of new schools effectively, to ensure we have the facilities to deliver world-class education and to meet the growing demands for school places,” he quoted from the document.

Mr McLaughlin told the House that the educational consulting company of Fielding Nair International had submitted the winning bid for the ‘Educational Facilities Planner’ tender, and its services had been contracted for $1.6 million.

Co-founded by Randall Fielding and Prakash Nair, the company has educational consultants with work experience in Europe, the Middle East, South America, and North America.

“An assessment is urgently needed regarding how effective our existing educational facilities are in supporting the desire for high quality delivery of teaching and learning. This has not been done before and is a pressing need,” Mr McLaughlin said.

“With the major cost implications of the planned new facilities, it is essential that we seek world class advice and get it right. There is no second chance,” he said as reported earlier this week in Cayman Net News.