Post-Hurricane Repairs Ongoing at 300 Schools to Ensure Readiness for 2024/25 Academic Year

Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, says repairs are ongoing at the 300-plus schools damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl, to ensure their readiness for the start of the 2024/25 academic year on September 2.

“We have been meeting with our Regional Directors, with all our building officers, and if there’s a situation that they believe may not be totally ready for September 2, they’ve already put contingency plans in place, which have been discussed with Principals,” Mrs. Williams outlined.

She was addressing the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) 60th Annual Conference held recently at Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny.

The Minister assured that most of the damaged schools will be ready for reopening in the new academic year.

“There are not too many of those situations. I [can] think of one school in which the timber building that they were using collapsed, and it is impossible to put up a replacement building in eight weeks. [The] Regional Director [in that area] has already had conversations with the Principal, with parents and a church that has a hall that’s right across the street to accommodate those students. So, when I talk about contingency plans, that’s an example of what would allow schools to carry on,” Mrs. Williams stated.

She said while the Ministry is not neglecting any of the schools sustaining damage, those most adversely impacted will be prioritised.

“We are focused on priority-one schools to get those back up and running, and we commit to priority two and three schools, that your damage will also be repaired, but it will be done during the school year. So, on September 2, you can open,” Mrs. Williams said.

She reiterated that schools categorised in priority two include those where a tree may have fallen on boundary fence or where a wall might need repairs

“But will it stop your school from operating come September 2? No, it won’t… it shouldn’t. So, we’re asking for understanding as we lay out our approach to this, so that schools don’t feel as if they’ve been neglected or victimised. It’s just a reality of prioritising the severely damaged schools versus those that are moderately damaged versus those with minor damage,” the Minister explained.

Mrs. Williams also advised that previous infrastructural damage to schools that were long overdue for repairs are also being addressed.

“Hurricane Beryl accelerated some of the work that needed to have been done decades ago. Some roofs that used to leak will leak no more, because they have been replaced as a result of the work that we did to rectify the hurricane damage. But I don’t want to depend on a hurricane to do what we ought to be doing in and out of season,” she stated.