$100M being sought from budgetary allocations for QC reconstruction
Queen's College (QC) Board of Governors has been given the assurance that some $100 million is being sought from present budgetary allocations to start the reconstruction of the burnt-out section of the school. The office, auditorium and other parts of the school were completely destroyed by fire in November 1997. Chairman of the Board, Ronald Alli, told Stabroek News on Friday that as soon as the funds were released to the board, work would commence on the building. He said that the board had hoped that funds would have been available for the start of the August holidays but even if they were made available in September "we will find ways to get it done." He noted that some chapters of the old students association had indicated their willingness to contribute, but they were awaiting government's input, which was expected to be substantial before they made their contribution. Alli said that the present facilities at Queen's College were not as bad "as they say" and that basically they had better facilities than other schools. He noted that even before huge portions of the building had been torched almost two years ago, it had needed upgrading, and that given the present circumstances, it would be ideal if the new facilities were modern, in keeping with the advancement of the new millennium. Government did not make provision in its national budget for the reconstruction of the school this year or last year. However, there were donations from a number of individuals, companies and businesses which amounted to $20.5 million and these were spent on the renovation of burnt-out sections of the eastern and western wings of the school. The Queen's College Old Students Association (QCOSA) also donated 25 computers to the school to replace those lost in the fire. (Miranda La Rose)
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