Portmore Community College, Bridgeport High to be upgraded – MP Miller
ST CATHERINE, Jamaica— A new building is to be constructed to house the Portmore Community College, while a new block is to be built at the Bridgeport High School to facilitate the institution being taken off the shift system.
The disclosure was made by the Member of Parliament for St Catherine South Eastern, Robert Miller, during his recent contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives.
The first term MP, who is himself a graduate of Bridgeport High, has long lobbied for more classroom space to allow for the school being taken off the shift system.
“For years I have advocated for Bridgeport High School to be removed from the shift system. I expressed my concerns in last year’s debate, I’ve had intensive meetings with the Minister of Education and Youth, Fayval Williams and her team (and) I am proud to announce …that from those meetings we are one step closer to removing Bridgeport High School off the shift system,” Miller stated.
Miller described his alma mater as one of the premier high schools in Jamaica. He told his colleagues that the education ministry, through the National Education Trust will be building a new block to accommodate the growing student population.
He is appealing to the Portmore Municipal Council to waive the attached fees and taxes to facilitate the construction.
In terms of the Portmore Community College, Miller lamented that the only tertiary institution in the constituency was “bursting at its seams and has outlived its capacity to function”.
“I am very pleased to announce …that following fruitful discussions with the hardworking Minister of Education and Youth, work should commence soon on a new building that will host the premier tertiary institution in Portmore,” he said.
Still on infrastructure, Miller said leaking roofs at the Waterford and Southborough primary schools will be fixed during the current academic year. He also said the Bridgeport Primary School will be fenced.
In the meantime, Miller said $8 million has been spent on tertiary grants, book vouchers and computers for constituents since the start of the financial year. Additionally, all three high schools in the constituency – Bridgeport, Waterford and Cumberland High, have received musical instruments courtesy of the Brand New Start Foundation with the help of the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund.