CHAIRMAN of the board of the Hanover-based Kendal Primary School, Marvia Brown is excited over plans by Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) to give the institution a multimillion-dollar face lift.

According to Brown, “the planned works to be undertaken at the school will help to create the learning environment that will help to improve learning outcomes at the Kendal Primary School”.

JSIF announced last week that it is to spend $117 million from the 10th cycle of Caribbean Development Bank’s Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF-10), to tackle issues at the school..

The project will address significant infrastructural problems at the institution to include: leaking roof; inadequate drainage, which results in flooding of the linkway; inadequate ventilation and lighting throughout building, which has resulted in serious respiratory implications for the school’s students and members of staff.

The teaching and learning process has also been significantly hampered by frequent flooding, termite and frog infestation of the classrooms.

Constructions will be carried out by C&D Construction and Engineering, a company based in Mandeville, Manchester.

It will be working alongside GDM Associates Limited which will be the consultant supervisor on the project.

According to Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams, “this project is all a part of the transformation for education plan to upgrade the infrastructure of schools all over Jamaica”.

In the meantime Omar Sweeney, managing director at JSIF, pointed out that the community of Kendal will contribute approximately $4.9 million towards the implementation of the project.

The scope of works to be undertaken will include the construction of classrooms, office space, resource room, kitchen, a bathroom with adequate septic facilities, and a linkway to connect buildings on the compound.

During the equipping component of the project, classrooms as well as the administrative area will be outfitted with the necessary furniture and educational and technological resources.

For the training component, seven people from the school participated in a four-day residential training event in which they were instructed in water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and maintenance.

When completed, the project will benefit 132 students on roll and the 10 staff members at the school.