Education Ministry to Begin Publishing Hurricane School Repair Updates

The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information will commence publishing fortnightly updates on hurricane-related school repairs, detailing project costs, contractors and expected completion dates, in a bid to enhance transparency and public accountability.

Portfolio Minister, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, disclosed that the information will cover all schools undergoing repairs and will allow Jamaicans to track the progress of projects funded by taxpayers.

“We’re going to be putting that online so that everybody can see what the statuses of the schools are… [in terms of which ones are] being repaired within the timelines given, et cetera. All that information will be provided, and we’ll do it every two weeks,” Dr. Morris Dixon said.

She was addressing the Ministry’s Second Annual Region Six Principals’ Retreat at the Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny on Tuesday (July 14).

Senator Morris Dixon noted that 77 Priority Two schools in Region Six require repairs following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, with work slated to begin during the summer break.

The Minister acknowledged, however, that progress has not been as rapid as anticipated, noting that repair and maintenance works across the education system have taken longer than expected to implement.

Dr. Morris Dixon said the Ministry is exploring ways to enhance the responsiveness of its maintenance programme, including increasing the number of technical personnel.

She implored principals whose schools are slated for repairs to carefully review the scope of works to ensure that long-standing maintenance issues are addressed while contractors are on site, stressing “let’s get the most out of this money that is being spent”.

Minister Morris Dixon also encouraged school leaders to ensure that staff-room improvements, plumbing upgrades and accessibility features are incorporated into repair projects wherever feasible.