Stronger schools

After a school year battered by Hurricane Melissa, particularly in western Jamaica, but capped by improved results in the country’s major examinations, Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon is looking to the new school year with optimism, pointing to increased investment, and stronger infrastructure as Jamaica pushes to transform its education system.

The scale of the challenge facing schools remains stark.

According to Morris Dixon’s back-to-school message, more than 688 schools were damaged by Melissa, 313 of them severely, while almost $26 billion is being spent on repairs and reconstruction. As she has repeatedly done in the past few weeks she acknowledged, however, that the work is not advancing as quickly as the Government would like.