SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth – Member of Parliament for North East St Elizabeth, Raymond Pryce has confirmed that Braes River Primary School is to receive additional class rooms as well as modern bathrooms.

Speaking at the launch of a computer resource room at Balaclava Primary last Thursday, Pryce said social infrastructure provider, Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) will be implementing the project with “close to $30 million”.

Work is expected to begin by the end of this month, principal of Braes River Primary, Dahlia Francis told Observer Central.

At the start of the school term in September, residents of Braes River staged demonstrations to protest the continued use of pit toilets at the school.

Recalling the protests, Pryce noted that the residents then were unaware that in addition to modern toilets “we had put in a request” to get additional space.

Francis said the JSIF project was expected to provide for two classroom spaces, bathrooms, a refurbished principal’s block, a refurbished kitchen and classroom partitions for the school building which dates back to 1929.

Pryce also spoke of plans for perimeter fencing and a modern water harvesting and purification system.

Braes River Primary accommodates 200 children but has to rely on chalkboard partitions for classes and is generally lacking in modern amenities.

A beaming Francis said the planned improvements will transform education at her school. “This will lift the morale of students, lift the morale of teachers … this will help teaching and learning to be far more effective,” she said.

— Garfield Myers