Port Kaituma Community School (PKCS) is a learning centre in

Port Kaituma Port Kaituma is a small village within the Barima-Waini administrative region of Guyana. It became known internationally as a gateway village to the Peoples Temple settlement in nearby Jonestown. It has long been a hub for mining in the area. ...

within the Barima-Waini administrative region of

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. Incorporating the Nursery, Primary and Secondary departments, the Community School provides an important educational resource to its students, providing the opportunity to break free from employment in gold mining and its support services.

History

Built in the times of Forbes Burnham, the then President of Guyana, PKCS was part of a major vision to populate

's hinterland regions to make the country more self-sufficient. Nearby

Matthew's Ridge Matthews Ridge is a small village within the Barima-Waini administrative region of Guyana. The village name comes from the name of a public official, Matthew Young, as well as the ridges in the area. The village is divided into three sections, H ...

was touted as a prospective new capital city due to its rich

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

resources. During its heyday, the school boasted over 800 students from all over Guyana. Most of these students were housed in the nearby dormitories. The school had its own farm, ball field and agricultural patch. The decline of the region following the deceased manganese operations and the abandonment of the hinterland population project meant Port Kaituma was no longer a priority; the area experienced an economic downturn. The school numbers fell and the dorms were abandoned towards the end of the 1980s. Most of the beds were transferred to Kaituma's more affluent neighbour

Mabaruma Mabaruma is the administrative centre for Region One (Barima-Waini) of Guyana. It is located close to the Aruka River (the Venezuelan border) on a narrow plateau above the surrounding rainforest at an elevation of 13 metres. History Mabaruma was ...

and its North West Secondary School. The farm has since been invaded by the encroaching rainforest. Such was the deterioration of the school (in 2002 a secondary pupil fell through the floorboards) that the matter was taken up with the World Bank. Only the secondary department was accepted for the project and following extensive refurbishment the school was re-opened amidst governmental celebration in time for the 2003/04 academic year. There is a lack of teachers. Many of the underqualified primary teachers are required to step in and in 2002

Project Trust Project Trust, based on the Scottish Inner Hebridean Isle of Coll, is an international volunteering charity for young people. Work of the charity An education charity since 1967, Project Trust offers young people across the UK, Ireland and Mai ...

started sending two volunteer teachers per year to PKCS to bolster the teaching team. Since 2005 worldteach volunteers from America have been teaching at the primary and secondary schools. Peacecorps started this year to send volunteers but they are not officially attached to the school. In November 2007, Sir Adams was replaced as HM by Miss Brittlebank.

References

{{Education in Guyana High schools and secondary schools in Guyana Elementary and primary schools in Guyana