The EU had funded a fully equipped modern building for the Church of Melanesia’s Saint Nicholas Secondary School which was officially handed over to school authorities and students on Friday.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education Mr. Barnabas Anga has expressed profound gratitude to the European Union for their continuous commitment and dedication in the Solomon Islands education sector.

He said the commitment and dedication by EU is evident in the completed classrooms and library building that is now ready for use by teachers and students.
Mr. Anga also highlighted the fact that because of the commitment and dedication of parents, guardians and friends of St. Nicholas School through their valuable labor, much has been achieved including the new building.

“I wish to commend all of you for the spirit of cooperation and partnership that enabled us to witness this timely handover of these properties to the School Management and Board of St. Nicholas Community High School,” Mr Anga added.

He pointed out that his Ministry advocates the principles of financial management and budgeting and it was this training amongst others, which has enabled the management of St. Nicholas, to better plan for effective use of its financial resources, which had culminated in the construction of the first phase of this classroom.

“The second phase was completed with support from the National Secondary School Infrastructure Programme of my Ministry, which is supervised by Pro Solutions,” Mr. Anga explained.

“I wish to put on record our sincerest appreciation for the fine efforts and advice from the management of Pro Solutions to Schools that are beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries of our National Secondary School Project,” Mr Anga added.

The EU funded two-storey classroom building will accommodate form seven classes and a fine library.

School Principal Mrs Christina Vunagi funding provided by the EU through the Ministry of Education under the Education Investment Reform Program (EIRP) has benefited her school since 2005.

According to Mrs. Vunagi, the school had received the first installment of $122,000.00 in 2005.

“This money initially was for the classroom building now occupied by the form six classes and the computer lab, however, when the money was made available the classroom had already been completed using the school’s own funds” Mrs Vunagi explained.

She added that after reprioritizing the school’s projects, the school board decided on a library since the school has already reached Form 7 level and this was when they utilized the EU money.

Saint Nicholas School had a long track record of endurance and Endeavour in as far as their commitment to the overall advancement of the school’s learning environment is concerned and this was the spirit that had enabled them to make contributions in terms of labor costs, furnishing and other finishing touches, which value up to more than $180,000-00.