PRIMARY SCHOOL textbooks provided through the Ministry of Education are now in the island and are being distributed.
Minister of Education Maxine Henry-Wilson yesterday indicated that most of the books have arrived. She said she hoped they will be distributed to schools in less than a month, but was reluctant to give a deadline.
"The contractor has honoured his contract... The books are here, but they have to be packaged to send to schools and that is what is being done now. I couldn't tell you exactly when they are going to finish packaging them but I know, for example, (with) the container for Portland, they have actually been delivering those books," she said in an interview yesterday.
The Ministry has come in for harsh criticism concerning the absence of textbooks at the start of the new school year.
Public ire has also led to suggestions that the contracts be terminated with the current supplier, but Minister Henry-Wilson yesterday reiterated that the contractor had delivered the books within the period specified in his contract.
The Gleaner was unable to reach Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) president, Wentworth Gabbidon, for comment last night. Earlier yesterday, Mr. Gabbidon lamented the situation and asked the Ministry of Education to speed up the delivery of the books.
Addressing the JTA Co-operative Credit Union Limited's (JTACCUL) annual awards for scholarships and grants yesterday, he said that primary schools were still without the basic texts needed for mathematics, science, social studies and basic reading material.
Mr. Gabbidon said the situation is urgent because textbooks provided by the Ministry are often the only texts children have. Caregivers sometimes cannot afford to buy additional material, including supplementary books such as a Student's Companion, First Aid in English or a Junior English Revised.
