Residents of Diamond Scheme, Guyana, now have ready access to early childhood education facilities through the Construction of a nursery school in their area by the Government of Guyana, in partnership with the Caribbean Development Bank's (CDB) Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF). The Ministry of Education and the Regional Democratic Council, Region Four, officially commissioned the Diamond Nursery School, 14th Street, Diamond Scheme, before an audience of parents, teachers and students on October 24, 2013. The Diamond Nursery School caters to 120 students and will provide the students with a healthy environment to explore social skills and receive hands-on experiences with qualified teachers. The new facility has already received the ‘thumbs up' from its new pupils who said, "We love our school! It's big and pretty!" Officials who attended the event included Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand; Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh and Project Manager, Basic Needs Trust Fund, Guyana, Michael Singh. Mr. Singh told the gathering, "This occasion is very special to me because, before this Nursery was here, the entire area was a lot of cane fields, and it is especially pleasing to see how far Guyana is going. The Construction [of the school] commenced October 17, 2012 and was completed [on] July 23, 2013 at a cost of GYD64.5M (USD 317,814)." Minister Manickchand also expressed how pleased she was with the project, calling on the parents in attendance to ensure they support their children in whatever way they can. The Minister noted that five of Guyana's students, four of whom are girls, copped the Regional Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) awards for the best student in the areas of Business studies, Science, Technical Vocational studies and Humanities. Guyana also copped the award for the Most Outstanding Overall Candidate of the Region. Adding to this call was Finance Minister, Dr. Singh, "Whilst the Diamond Scheme has grown and represents the progress of the Education system, I wish to reiterate Minister Manickchand's calls for fathers to be more involved in the lives of their children. She had made this call at a similar event and I feel it is important to do so again," he said. Story adapted from: Kaieteur News Online Photo taken from:Kaieteur News Online