Region Four Ready For New School Year

Regional Director in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dr. Michelle Pinnock, says schools across region four are ready to welcome students for the start of the 2025/26 academic year on September 1.

Region Four covers educational institutions in Westmoreland, Hanover, and St. James.

“All our schools will be open next week. A number of schools have organized themselves. They had professional developments this week for both academic and non-academic staff,” Dr. Pinnock told JIS News.

She further informed that schools would reopen on a staggered basis.

“Schools will be out on Tuesday and Wednesday, so they will use Monday, Thursday and Friday for orientation and a staggered return, meaning different grades will come [each day]. But then on the 8th of September, everybody will be present, and we will start up,” she noted.

Dr. Pinnock informed that the initial week of school will focus on preparing students for the year ahead.

“We are going to be focusing on a lot of the psychosocial aspects, just getting persons ready for the academic year, and just preparing, motivating them in terms of their expectations and how it is that we’ll operate for the new academic year,” she stated.

The Regional Director also pointed out that staffing arrangements are in place at the schools.

“We are replacing persons who would have gone on leave, those who would have resigned and those who would have retired as well. We’re [also] using the ministry’s retention policy that will see us using sometimes…recently retired persons to fill the gaps where there are vacancies. So, we are just ensuring that all our classes are covered,” she said.

Dr. Pinnock further noted that the Ministry has addressed infrastructure and furniture needs in the region.

“We would have done repairs to leaking roofs, termite infestation treatments, sanitation treatments, [to ensure] that all our schools are safe and ready,” she stated, while adding that furniture deliveries to schools are ongoing.

“We know that for this week, we would have delivered furniture to about 19 schools, and we’re sure that on the weekend, some other schools will receive furniture as well,” she added.

Dr. Pinnock reiterated that the region was ready for the start of the school year “and… we’re hoping to ensure that we start off on a right footing”.