WESTERN BUREAU:More than eight months after Hurricane Melissa’s devastating passage last October, the Jamaica Independent Schools Association (JISA) has expressed concern over what it says is inadequate government support for its associates recovering from the disaster as well as a lack of clarity regarding which private schools have benefited from the Government’s promised funding.JISA President Tamar McKenzie told The Sunday Gleaner that despite making requests, her organisation has been unsuccessful in getting a list of the private schools that were to benefit from the Government’s proposed $31 million in post-hurricane grants. That sum was previously announced by Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon during a January 23 sitting of the Senate.“There was a big announcement that private schools will get some money, and we have been asking for the list of beneficiaries because the feedback from our membership has been so sparse to the point that we were asking the Ministry of Education to do a declaration of all of the institutions that have received that funding. That was so we could know what percentage were actually privately registered schools or basic schools that got the majority of the funding,” said McKenzie.“The public schools would have gotten in the ballpark of $150,000 to $450,000 for clean-up relief. That was dispersed shortly after the hurricane, and we got at maximum $150,000. But they cannot tell us how many schools got that $150,000,” McKenzie added. “This has created a little divide in the private-school space because you do not know who has actually benefited, and that has created some tension.”According to McKenzie, if certain private schools will not get the promised grants, the Government should clearly explain the reason for that so as not to create animosity between those schools and the ones that will benefit.“If private schools are being included in the relief funding that went out, even if it is small, you should maximise on it and tell us who are the schools that benefited and why. What was the metric used to determine who got the support? For those who do not get the support, if it is because they are not tax compliant or they are not fully registered or whatever the case is, then the schools will have less resentment against each other,” said McKenzie.475 registered private schoolsApproximately 616 educational institutions across Jamaica were damaged by Hurricane Melissa’s destructive Category 5 weather conditions, of which 55 were private schools. There are 475 registered private schools in Jamaica.According to data from the Independent Schools Branch of the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth, and Information (MOESYI), St James recorded the highest number of private schools that were impacted by Melissa, with 15 institutions suffering damage. Nine private schools in Westmoreland were similarly impacted, along with seven each in St Elizabeth and Clarendon; six in St Ann; three in St Catherine; two each in Trelawny, Hanover, and Manchester; and one each in Kingston and St Andrew.Eber Preparatory School in Montego Bay was among the private schools in St James that suffered significant structural damage during the hurricane. The school’s director, Michelle Ramson, told The Sunday Gleaner that she is not optimistic about getting government assistance to rebuild.“We actually lost an entire block with five classrooms and our library and sensory rooms, which we are trying to rebuild. The biggest challenge that we have now is the nearby gully that the St James Municipal Corporation is responsible for, and we had to get a backhoe and excavator to clear it,” said Ramson. “Prior to Melissa, our student capacity was 565, and we are trying to get back there, but I do not foresee us getting any assistance from the Government in terms of restoration.”The McDonald’s Tiny Stars Nursery, Preschool, Kindergarten, and Preparatory School in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, was among the nine private schools in that parish to be significantly damaged by Melissa. Its entire roof was ripped off, and its floor suffered water damage. Its proprietor, Kayon McDonald, said that repairs are still ongoing.“We have been up and running from November, but we have been using the little shade we get from the building. If the building is shading one section in the morning, we use that section for the classroom, and as the shade moves, the children move, with the teacher also,” said McDonald.“Before the hurricane, we had over 200 students from daycare up to the preparatory department, but it fell to 187 after the storm because some persons had to relocate, but hopefully, things will be coming back to normal because my registration process has [started], and I have registered more than 40 [new] students for the upcoming term,” McDonald added.The Black River Preparatory School in St Elizabeth lost numerous windows and doors and the roof of its auditorium. It also suffered damage to its perimeter fencing and games equipment. The school’s student population has fallen from a pre-hurricane 280 students to about 250 as several students’ families relocated in Melissa’s aftermath.“We received no grants for our school, no assistance from the Government. We opened back from January this year, and we are still operating because we could not wait [to receive aid]. We went ahead and found back some windows, and we got persons from Kingston to put in back the windows,” the school’s principal explained.Attempts to contact the MOESYI regarding how many private schools have received cleanup grants since January were unsuccessful.However, The Sunday Gleaner received a copy of a letter to JISA from Acting Chief Education Officer Terry Ann Thomas-Gayle, dated November 26, 2025, in which she stated that the MOESYI would engage the Development Bank of Jamaica on behalf of independent schools to facilitate access to the M5-Framework Programme. That initiative offers expanded financing options and technical support for structural reconstruction, long-term recovery, and implementation of climate-resilient building standards.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com