JTA president challenges Holness to act on overheating classrooms

Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President LaSonja Harrison has challenged Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness to draw from his personal experiences of overheating classrooms to ensure the Government swiftly addresses worsening school conditions.

Temperatures reached scorching levels this summer and, when schools reopened, students were again forced into hot classrooms and temporary structures made necessary by the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa.

Speaking earlier this week at the launch of the Jamaica Reconstruction and Resilience Oversight Committee, Holness recalled his days of hot classrooms and noted that the situation remains the same for some students, making a classroom under trees “closer to nature”.