School restoration efforts advance in St Elizabeth

The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information has commenced inspections of ongoing work at several schools being repaired, in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry, Senator Marlon Morgan, said that the inspections would have started earlier in the week.

He explained that this follows earlier site visits by the Ministry’s leadership that were aimed at observing progress on infrastructure repairs and guiding further interventions.

“We’re embarking as a Ministry on a programme of reconstruction in keeping with the kind of resilience that we want to foster across the sector, so that Jamaica will not again suffer the ravages of future adverse weather events,” he said.

He was speaking with JIS News, following a tour of Ballard’s Valley Primary and Infant School, Lacovia Primary and Infant School, and Clapham Primary and Infant School in St Elizabeth on January 8.

Morgan also outlined the extent of the hurricane-related damage observed at the Clapham Primary and Infant School.

“There has been tremendous devastation. The main infrastructure at the school was decimated in its entirety. There is also damage that the plant sustained as well, not least to its electrical infrastructure, fittings such as floors and furniture in terms of desks and chairs, and even plumbing infrastructure was adversely affected,” he said.

Despite the scale of the damage, the parliamentary secretary said the restoration works under way demonstrate the Government’s resolve to ensure schools are returned to safe and functional conditions.

“What we’re here doing today and what the contractors have embarked on really attests to the Ministry’s commitment and the Government’s resolve to ensure that our education sector can bounce back, and it bounces back even better than before,” he said.

He emphasised that student safety remains central to the recovery process.

“We know the importance of having our students, our boys and girls, located and situated in safe spaces, and that is what we’re committed to,” Morgan said.

He also reassured parents and stakeholders that the Ministry is working closely with its partners to restore normal operations and support education continuity.

“As a Ministry, we just want to reassure the public, in partnership with all of our stakeholders… that we are in good stead in terms of our resolve to get our school system back in terms of the routine and regular teaching and learning space and condition,” he said.

He added that the overall objective is to ensure students are given every opportunity to succeed.

“We know that it’s important to give our learners the best opportunities possible, to give them the best version of themselves possible,” he said.

Joining Morgan on the tour were Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining and Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth South Eastern, Franklin Witter; Regional Director at the Education Ministry in Region 5, Susan Nelson Smith; Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth North Western, Andrew Morris and other stakeholders.

- JIS News

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