New Mile Gully High School top priority, says Morris Dixon

MINISTER of Education Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon has announced that plans to construct a new building to house the Mile Gully High School in Manchester North Western are now far advanced and is a priority for the Government. Morris Dixon was responding on Wednesday to Member of Parliament for the constituency Mikael Phillips who, on Tuesday, renewed his call for a new building to house the school amid reports that students are learning in intolerable conditions. Speaking in the House of Representatives during the State of the Constituency Debate, Phillips said the school’s deteriorating physical condition is unacceptable, particularly given the academic achievements of its students.

He said only 10 classrooms at the school are currently fully habitable, although 21 are needed to properly accommodate the student population. The MP said the problems include termite damage to the structure, a leaking staff room, inadequate bathrooms, and a canteen that is about half the size of a regular classroom, despite serving more than 700 students. “To prevent total closure the teachers and students themselves had to build temporary classrooms out of donated materials.

Forcing over 700 students into a compromised, termite infested space that lacks even half of the usable rooms required is an indictment on our priorities as a nation,” said Phillips. He argued that despite the conditions the school continues to produce strong examination results. He told the House that Mile Gully High recorded a 77 per cent pass rate in Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) English, 34 per cent in mathematics, 80 per cent in business subjects, 63 per cent in chemistry, and 85 per cent in technical and vocational subjects.

He said integrated science and biology each recorded a 100 per cent pass rate, while the school achieved a 98 per cent Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) pass rate. Member of Parliament for Manchester North Western Mikael Phillips making his contribution to the 2026/27 State of the Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. (Photo: Karl Mclarty) “Let those figures sink in, into the minds of the members of this House.

Our students are delivering elite, national-level academic excellence while inhaling termite dust and sitting under leaking roofs,” Phillips said. The MP said the concern is not only the condition of the existi…