CATHERINE HALL, St James –

Proud education ministry officials will today celebrate the official opening of a new state-of-the-art resource centre on the compound of the newly refurbished DRB Grant basic school in Catherine Hall.

Both the centre -which was designed to provide critical information and advice concerning early childhood education to students teachers, parents and caregivers in general-and the refurbishing of the school, were funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education under the government’s Enhancement of Basic Schools project (EBSP).

Contractors KSA Engineering Consultants Limited completed the job in October of 2007 at a cost of some J$28 million.

However the total value of the EBSP under which 12 basic schools and 11 resource centres are to be constructed or refurbished islandwide amounts to some US$15 million; US$13.5m of which was raised by a loan from the CDB and $US 2.4m of which was put in by the government.

Alphansus Davis, the advisor to the Minster of Education, Andrew Holness will deliver the keynote address at today’s launch which will also be attended by Member of parliament for West Central St James, Clive Mullings.

The centre which is already in operation under the guidance of Education Officer Melrose Cameron, is open -at no charge to the public -on weekdays between the hours of 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.