Repairs Completed on 29 Priority Schools

Repairs have been completed on 29 of the 39 schools that were prioritised for attention during the 2022/23 fiscal year, says Education and Youth Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams.

The Minister, who was addressing the Office of the Prime Minister’s Face-To-Face Townhall Meeting on Education at Jamaica College in St. Andrew recently, said works on the remaining institutions are either 90 to 95 per cent completed or have been tendered and will begin soon.

Among the beneficiary schools are King Western All-Age in St. Andrew, where electrical repairs, painting and replacement of defective windows and grills were undertaken.

The kitchens at Craighton and Woodford Primary, also in St. Andrew, were renovated while Trinity Primary in St. Thomas had its leaking roof rehabilitated and partition walls replaced.

“Over in St. Mary, at Port Maria Primary, we did repairs to infrastructure damaged by flooding, which included the grade three block timber building, Block A, and the guidance councillor’s office [with] repairs to walls, cupboards, doors, bathrooms, reed bed, fencing, and painting,” the Minister further disclosed.

Noting that much work remains to be done, Mrs. Williams said the Ministry will be looking at its processes “to be able to respond faster when our principals call.”

“I have asked the team to look at packaging similar works. For example, if 30 schools need roof repairs, instead of tendering each school separately, why not tender all 30 together? It would be more attractive to contractors than trying to tender one school at a time,” she said.

Meanwhile, Minister Williams pointed out that to date, 216 schools across the island are connected to adequate internet.

These include 26 in St. Catherine, 21 in Clarendon, and 34 in St. Elizabeth.