Ministry of Education to Fence 64 Schools This Year

Approximately 64 schools are to receive security fencing, as part of the safety and security initiative of the Ministry of Education (MOE), at a cost of $429.7 million, during the 2009-2010 academic year.
The disclosure was made by Chief Building Officer in the MOE, Leonard Jackson, during an interview with JIS News.
“Twelve schools benefitted from the programme in 2008/2009, and 64 schools will benefit in 2009-2010. The overall plan is to fence all schools. However all schools cannot be fenced in one fiscal year, due to funding”, Mr. Jackson explained.
According to him, the Ministry decides on the priority schools after receiving submissions from the regional offices.
“The regional offices submit a list of the schools in their region that need fencing. The Ministry then decides the schools that will take priority,” he emphasised.
Under the 2009-2010 fencing initiative, nine schools will be fenced in Region 1, 10 in Region 2, 16 in Region 3, 13 in Region 4, eight in Region 5 and eight in Region 6.
The 12 schools that were fenced in 2008-2009 are:-Golden Grove Primary, Seaforth Primary and Port Antonio Primary from Region 2; Brimmervale High, Cedric Titus High, Marcus Garvey Technical High and Discovery Bay All-Age in Region 3; May Day High and Glen Stuart High in Region 5; Denbigh High, York Street Primary and Tredegar Park Primary in Region 6.
The programme, which started last year, is ongoing and is being done by Government contractors.