Knockalva racing against time - Principal laments lack of post-Melissa repair ahead of new school year, says warp-speed operation ‘won’t be fast enough’

WESTERN BUREAU:

Gregory Brown, principal of Knockalva Technical High School in Hanover, says the institution will not be able to properly welcome incoming students for the approaching September term, as the school, which was badly damaged during the passage of Hurricane Melissa, remains in a significant state of disrepair.

In an interview with The Gleaner on Wednesday, Brown said four start dates for the school’s restoration have been missed, even as registration for the school’s expected population of 750 students is now under way.

The restoration is expected to include repairs to extensive damage to the campus’ auditorium, canteen, computer lab, and several windows and roofs.

“Since I have been back from leave on May 1, we have sat with the National Education Trust (NET) and with the contractors, and they would have set at least four start dates for our restoration, and they have missed them all. The Ministry of Education, through NET, would have committed themselves to fixing it, and clearly at this stage we will be nowhere near ready come September,” said Brown.

“Even if we do it at sprint sensation Usain Bolt’s speed now, we are really way behind. I think what we need now is a warp-speed operation, and that still would not be enough,” continued Brown. “You can just imagine what this does for the morale of the people who went through this untenable working situation for months, and we would have done everything within our powers to clear the place. You also have teachers traveling from as far as Santa Cruz [in St Elizabeth], and they used to live on campus.”

Other schools

Knockalva Technical High and neighbouring Knockalva Polytechnic College were among several schools badly damaged by the Category 5 hurricane, which impacted the island on October 28, 2025. More than 600 educational institutions across Jamaica suffered varying degrees of damage from the storm.

Some of the other schools that suffered significant damage include Mannings School, Culloden Infant School, King’s Infant School, Paul Island Primary School, and Seaford Town Primary School in Westmoreland; and Anchovy High School and Buckingham Primary School in St James.

Interestingly, a NET report indicated that, as of July 20, Knockalva Polytechnic College had been categorised as being at an advanced bidding assessment stage for a full rebuild, with a target contract award date of August 15. The polytechnic college recently benefited from $4 million in scholarship support from the Knockalva International Alumni Association, with the funds going to 26 students who suffered major dislocation from the storm.

Brown said that while Knockalva’s alumni association has also offered assistance for the technical high school, including providing electrical supplies, that aid cannot be implemented without a proper working structure in which to install them.

“Our energies are focused now on what we can do to offer the students the best possible service that we can, but it is an urgent matter because we would have missed so many days [due to Hurricane Melissa]. With the type of help that the association wants to offer now, the infrastructure has to be up and running before we can accept some of that help,” he said.

Knockalva Technical High, which was established in 1973, is expecting to welcome its full complement of 750 students for the upcoming term, with approximately 85 per cent of its incoming cohort having been registered to date.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com