Missed target: Works to ESHS will not start before late-January
The L-shaped building at Elmore Stoutt High School in Road Town.
Nearly two months after local firm SA Architect was selected to manage restoration works that will happen on the L-shaped building at the Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) campus in Road Town, a tendering process is being opened for actual rehabilitation works to begin on the said structure.
This tendering process will not close till January 22 next year. This late-January date nears the half-way mark into the second term (Lent Term) of the academic year.
With works on the school set to begin that far into the Lent Term, the building may very well not be ready to accept senior students before the next academic year; contrary to initial promises that the structure would have been ready by the end of this first school term.
This, inevitably, means senior students and teachers will spend a considerably longer-than-hoped time at the ad hoc ESHS campus at the old CTL building in Pasea Estate, Tortola.
Noise issues, inadequate restroom facilities
The makeshift school facility — which operates on a shift system — is afflicted with inadequate restroom facilities and walls that unfavourably carry sound throughout all corners of the building.
“The facility is not the ideal facility so I’m certain that there would be complaints up there,” Education Minister Myron Walwyn told BVI News when asked if he has received reports of discomfort from teachers or students.
“The thing is, there isn’t much room for expansion or anything at this point and that is why it is important to try to move to get the old campus restored as quickly as possible. If we could have gotten the original campus done before, it would have been done so I’m just asking for them (teachers and students) to have a bit more patience with us. As they can see, things are moving along and hopefully the situation will be alleviated,” he added.
The ESHS rehabilitation project saw a massive delay in light of the procedural ‘red tape’ from the Caribbean Development Bank, which is lending the funds needed to repair the facility.
The 2017 hurricanes destroyed the school’s electrical system and panels, and wiring. Lights and fixtures will also need replacing on all four floors of the L-shaped building before it becomes student-ready. The is also some infrastructural works to be done.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
Cdb is kust being smart because you guys can’t be trusted with large sums of money
The ndp minister wallwind using the same firm that got him into trouble? Some people don’t learn at all
The plan has always being,
1: Have all contracts issued in the campaign season for general election as to fool the people for another term in office. We the people hopes that all blind folds will have see through cloth and holes this time
Get used to that headline. I am predicting that we are going to see a lot of “delay” and “missed deadline” headlines around the refurbishing of the ESHS. Been well over a year since IrMaria, and no work started yet.
My sentiment, exactly! They hold out till Election Time, so people would think they are being productive.
funds are not being put into the foundations of the BVI wellbeing. Terrible and extremely disappointing.
What funds!!!!? They’re broke.
Quality facilities/buildings are vital for providing a safe, secure and stable learning environment and getting productive student outcomes at the ESHS. Subsequent to the devastating damages by Hurricane Irma in Sep 2107 to ESHS, the old CTL facility is being used a temporary high school facility. True, there is also an urgency to complete ESHS repairs.
Nonetheless, the ESHS campus is sited on a piece of prime real estate in the midst of Road Town, Tortola and BVI capital city. However, IMO the current footprint of the ESHS is not maximizing the use of this piece scarce, prime real estate. The destruction of the campus facilities by Hurricane Irma in a twisted way provided an opportunity to take a closer look at how to maximize the land use. As such, perhaps the ESHS campus facilities needs to be razed, campus resited, campus be redesigned/reengineered and reconstructed.
Moreover, the reengineered campus should include science labs, cafeterias, auditorium, sports facilities, library………etc. Additionally, there is need for a central public library in Road Town; as such an on campus library can also serve as a public library. Further, during normal times, the campus will serve as a high school and during disasters, i.e., hurricanes……etc serve as a temporary rideout shelter.
@E.Leonard, your suggestion may have merit but it has been over a year since Hurricane Irma roared ashore, decimating ESHS so how long is it going to take for a redesign, resiting and reconstruction? The joint library is worth some discussion. Leonard, boi don’t hold your breath in the ESHS not being repaired in like manner. Thinking outside the box?
Lets lead like eagles, not careen off the cliff like buffaloes.
So what will be done to alleviate some of the problems at the CTL building seeing that even when the L-Shaped building is completed we will still have the Junior students and staff in that noisy, leaking and inadequate restroom facility?
Myron fix the dam bathroom at the school at ctl why are the children bathroom have no toilet seat????????♀️????????♂️
Used to be able to get toilet seats at hardware stores.
Yall aint got no damn shame..#yallnastysah…anybody can put a darn seat on..itneed a tender for dat..please.
It is people like you who are encouraging these ministers not to fulfill their duties. We didn’t elect them so that we could work for them, they suppose to be working for us. We pay our taxes. If they can’t take the heat then they should get out of the kitchen
It is people like you who are encouraging the ministers to neglect their duties. We did not elect them to work for them. They should be working for us we pay our taxes. If they can’t take the heat then they should get out of the kitchen.