ROC gives millions for SVG education

St. Vincent and the Grenadines continues to benefit from assistance from the Republic of China on Taiwan.
The latest came last Thursday, August 5, when Ambassador Elizabeth Chu handed over US$1,264,786.84 to Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves. The presentation took place at Cabinet Room. {{more}}
The money will be used for building and equipping four Learning Resource Centres and a special project at Sion Hill that includes a pavilion and a pan yard.
The Prime Minister repeated his promise of constructing Learning Resource Centres in every community as part of the Government’s “education revolution”. These centres will have libraries, computer rooms, meeting halls with stages, and kitchens for persons interested in the culinary arts.
The PM said that the designs of these new centres would move from the old-type centres as was evident in two facilities built at South Rivers and Colonarie.
He revealed that work was ongoing on four centres in North Windward, North Leeward, Union Island and Layou. The centre at Layou will house offices for the National Commercial Bank (NCB), the post office, and an office for the Town Clerk, which is an entity of the Government.
Dr. Gonsalves referred to the Learning Resource Centre that is being built next to the St. Vincent Community College. According to the Prime Minister, that building, which opens in October, is larger and more extensive than the others. It will cost EC$6 million of which EC$4.2 million will be for construction and the other EC$1.8 million for books, equipment, multimedia facilities, Internet facilities and computers.
“This will be an essential component, not only for Community College education but for the integrated Community College, which will involve other post secondary institutions like the Teachers College, Technical College and the Nursing School,” said the Prime Minister.
Other centres will be built at San Souci, Questelles which will include the police station, West Kingstown and East Kingstown.
The West Kingstown facility will be the most expensive facility because of the unavailability of flat land. According to Dr. Gonsalves, a massive retaining wall and a particular kind of entrance have to be built on that property.
At Richmond Hill in East Kingstown, the ground-breaking ceremony has already been held for a library and a lecture theatre with an orchestra pit, stage and all the modern appurtenances including a media conference room and seating accommodation for 800 persons.
According to the Prime Minister, this will complement the Peace Memorial Hall, although it will be much larger.
Sixteen Learning Resource Centres will be built with 14 being financed with resources from the ROC. The PM hopes to have these centres finished by the next general election, constitutionally due no later than June 2006.
Ambassador Chu told the gathering of media professionals she was happy and enthusiastic to assist the Government. She said that the ROC owed a lot to their investment in education.
“The building of these centres will encourage the people from the respective communities to make use of the centres for learning, meetings and various types of functions.”