KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Denham Town Primary and Infant School has been officially renamed the Edward Seaga Primary and Infant School in honour of Jamaica’s fifth Prime Minister, Edward Seaga.

Describing Seaga as a “visionary and courageous leader and statesman who made it his life’s work to improve the conditions of the masses”, Prime Minister Andrew Holness in a tweet today said: “I have no doubt that the Edward Seaga Primary and infant School will continue to be a beacon of hope in the community as it remains steadfast in imparting knowledge to the next generation of leaders.”

A renaming ceremony was held on Thursday, June 3 on the grounds of the schools in Kingston. 

Speaking during the ceremony, Holness said the schools, founded by Seaga, have been key providers of education to the community.

“Indeed, Mr Seaga played a pivotal role in the development of the newer schools,” he said, while encouraging administrators of the schools to make a commitment to continue to do well and elevate the standards to the highest.

“When the proposal was made to rename a school in honour of Edward Phillip George Seaga, a man whose history and legacy is that of building institutions and holding them to the highest standards, a man of order and excellence, I had some scepticism in my mind, because the institution that bears the name of the person must reflect the standards of the person,” he said. 

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and Member of Parliament for West Kingston, Desmond McKenzie, had put forward the proposal for the renaming of the schools, for which the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information gave approval after many discussions.

His reasoning for wanting the schools to be renamed was due to the fact that Seaga served as Member of Parliament for West Kingston from 1962 until his retirement from active politics in 2005 and he “built on that strong foundation of education in West Kingston”.