Kerema High renovation starts

WORK on to upgrading, renovating and expanding  Gulf’s Kerema High School has started.
School board chairman Jack Narrie said the first phase of the project had taken shape with the completion of four classrooms.
“The first stage included renovating the run-down classrooms and teachers’ houses. We were able to complete four classrooms for Grade 9 and 10 students,” Mr Narrie told The National on Tuesday.
He said this would ease the current teaching arrangement of Grade 9 classes in the morning and Grade 10 in the afternoon due to the deteriorated facilities.
Mr Narrie said the Education Department was aware of the arrangement but the school would not be facing space problems with the completion of the classrooms.
He said health inspectors also visited the school and declared the buildings as “unfit and unsafe” for occupation.
“When the old buildings are upgraded, the Health Department can then certify the buildings as safe for occupation again,” he said.
Mr Narrie said a total of K900,000 was allocated by the provincial government to upgrade the school facilities, including staff housing and another K1 million for the construction of two new double classrooms.
“Work on the new classrooms has started.
“Our shipment of pre-fabricated materials and workers would arrive by the end of this week,” he said.
The building materials are being transported to Malalaua by road and loaded onto a dinghy and sent to the school.
Mr Narrie said he was working round the clock to ensure the materials arrived on time for construction work.
“I would like to see the buildings up in time for the student’s examinations this year.”
The new classrooms and renovations should be completed end of June.