Education Ministry Insists Schools Stick to Official Student Medical Report Form

The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information (MOESYI) is telling school heads they must rely solely on the authorised standardised student medical report form when handling new enrolments and related steps meant to protect children’s health and welfare.

In its newest bulletin, the Ministry states that the form — produced with the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) in 2020 — is still the sole document approved for medically assessing pupils starting school.

MOESYI reports that some schools have changed the form’s clinical requirements, which is forbidden. Institutions are told not to modify, delete or insert any clinical conditions. Schools may attach their own logo or crest, but the text and required medical checks must stay intact.

The Ministry says uniform use of the official form underpins sound student health files and bolsters national health monitoring and welfare programmes.

Administrators are further urged to help shield Jamaica’s immunisation drive by confirming that pupils’ vaccine records are up to date. Jamaica’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), the Ministry notes, has wiped out polio, measles and rubella in the country. That gain is at risk, it cautions, from imported vaccine-preventable illnesses and incomplete coverage.

Schools are therefore pressed to reach and hold vaccination coverage of at least 95 per cent to sustain herd immunity. Officials should check that immunisation cards match the National Schedule, press parents and guardians to complete all advised vaccines, and partner with Parish Health Departments on campus vaccination drives and other public-health measures.

MOESYI also reminds school leaders to keep applying every relevant health-clearance rule for admission and attendance under the standardised guidelines and public health laws.