MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Ground was broken last week in Williamsfield, Manchester for a new US$5-million campus for the Catholic College of Mandeville.

The new campus, which will boost the college’s student capacity from the current 700 to 2,000, is expected to be completed in another two years and will be spread across a nine-acre property which now houses Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church.

Chancellor of the College, Reverend Neil Tiedemann told the Observer that the move to build the multimillion-dollar campus is part of long-term plans by the Catholic church in Jamaica to build a Catholic university.

President of the College, Sister Una O’Connor said that the new campus will house several two-storey buildings — complete with classrooms, science and technology labs, an administrative building and a cafeteria.

“We’re hoping to build a gymnatorium in the future, because we’re hoping for sports to be incorporated later. We do not have sports at the present location and that is really important,” she said.

Guest speaker at the groundbreaking ceremony Finance Minister Audley Shaw said the new campus would act as a catalyst for development in the area and bring employment to Williamsfield.

Mayor of Mandeville Councillor Brenda Ramsay said Williamsfield’s development featured prominently in the parish’s development plans and the college would help to bolster that development.

Though it offers a number of courses, the Catholic College is widely known for its teacher-training programme, and Sister O’Connor said though new programmes will be introduced, the institution will maintain this focus.

The college, which enrols students who matriculate with their CXC/GCE subjects, currently offers the bachelor of education, with an emphasis on Primary Education, and the master’s in education, in partnership with the St Mary’s University in the United States. There are also courses in Special Education and Guidance and Counselling.

Sister O’Connor said the programme is open to Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

The college, which started in 1992 with 18 students, has outgrown its facilities twice over the last 18 years, and has moved campuses as a result.