MOUNT CAREY, St James — STUDENTS at the Mount Carey Baptist Basic School here will resume classes in a newly constructed building next week.

Built at a cost of $12.3 million through funding from various organisations and individuals including Digicel Foundation and the Sarasota Baptist Church in Florida, the new facility will accommodate roughly 125 students.

Work on the project began four years ago, after the school board headed by the Reverend George Simpson spearheaded an initiative for the construction of the building in an effort to fulfill the Early Childhood registration process.

At that time, the institution which opened its doors in 1996 with 26 students was told that its existing facilities were not up to the required standard of the commission, and as such relocation was recommended.

By 2009, the building was 85 per cent complete through fund-raising efforts from the school community and various organisations.

The Digical Foundation then put in the final touches to the facility which included fencing and gates, equipping the play area, painting and electrical works, at a cost of $2.5 million.

The new facility boasts four class rooms, an office, kitchen, restrooms and a fullyequipped play area.

At its official opening last Thursday Reverend Simpson noted that the baptist church has had a long history of involvement in education process in the island.

“The history of education in Jamaica cannot be written without a place of prominence about the involvement of the church generally, and the baptist church in particular. Redating the abolition of slavery in 1838 it was the church that took on the task of teaching the slaves on how to read and write in English,” Reverend Simpson noted.

He added that during the immediate post-Emancipation era– in addition to the spiritually ministry — the baptist church intensified its education process, with the establishment of Free Villages.

He argued that as a result of the churches’ interest in education, several educational facilities were started.

The Mount Carey Baptist Church, he said, established one such school.

Meanwhile, principal of the of the Mount Carey Baptist Basic School Andrea Reid is expressing gratitude to the donors.

“The facility has more space so we can put in a number of teaching aids to make learning much easier for the students,” she told the Observer West.