Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd revealed on Tuesday that 75 percent of school repairs have been completed on nine public schools in the capital.
Before entering the weekly Cabinet meeting, he gave further updates that school renovations are either on or ahead of schedule.
Lloyd said he is pleased with the work of contractors, especially on schools in New Providence. Schools identified as being in critical condition and are now on track to being ready for the opening of the new school year.
“Because of the nature of the repairs, because of the timeframe, that’s why we were very very, very selective in those contactors,” Lloyd said.
“People who are capable of doing it, who can mount the required resources, who didn’t need mobilization in order to get started and those nine contractors who are very experienced worked with the Ministry of Education, the government, and the Ministry of Works over many years. Very experienced, very capable, and that’s why they were chosen to execute this critical work. “
Lloyd revealed that the ministry did not exceed its $45 million budget.
However, school buildings are not the only projects being addressed this year.
When asked about adding sex education, the minister objected to the idea. The minister believes family health exists to cover issues concerning sexual health, but his ministry is looking at other improvements to the school curriculum.
“As you know, one of the items on the agenda of the Free National Movement’s government in education in this term is a reformed curriculum that is very much underway and obviously all subject matters are under review, so that it can be relevant for the 21st century and family life education is one of those,” Lloyd said.
“Absolutely, we’re looking at everything involving reproductive health, particularly in an era where there are so many transmitted diseases.”
