SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — The Ministry of Education is currently rolling out new special education spaces as Jamaica faces a surge in demand for special education services, with one official pointing to an alarming level in the Corporate Area, seemingly fuelled by school-aged children whose births coincide with epidemics or pandemics.

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer on the sidelines of the official opening of a primary school block at Savanna-la-Mar Inclusive Academy in Westmoreland last Thursday, assistant chief education officer in the Special Education Unit of the ministry, Dionne Gayle-Smart, highlighted the growing crisis.

“We are seeing a steady increase in the amount of students who require special education — students who are now being diagnosed with being on the autistic spectrum, for example, students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is islandwide, but yes, in Westmoreland, we are seeing an increase in the amount of applications that we get at our unit for placement for school,” disclosed Gayle-Smart, adding, “If you look at it nationally, and then I know for Kingston and St Andrew, it is at an alarming level.”