News

Nadisha Hunter, Gleaner Writer

Touting its programme of disbursement to Jamaican schools as going according to clockwork, the Ministry of Education has predicted a "seamless start" to the new academic year, commencing next Monday.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday at the Ministry of Education's Kingston offices, Permanent Secretary Audrey Sewell said $1.25 billion, which represents 50 per cent of tuition fees for the school year, is already in the coffers of public secondary schools.

Funds for independent schools and special-education institutions, amounting to a total of $216.2 million, will be provided within the first week of September, the ministry said.

More repairs on furniture

Sewell spoke of improved efficiencies within the education sector. The ministry slashed of this expenditure on furniture to $37 million, down almost 75 per cent from $137 million spent during the 2009-2010 academic year, by focusing more on repairs than new purchases.

She revealed that the projected cost for the procurement of primary textbooks was $146 million, while the bill for secondary schools was more than $637 million.

Sewell disclosed that the distribution of primary-school textbooks was expected to be completed by Saturday.

Book delay

The permanent secretary pointed out, however, that secondary schools would be greeted with a slight delay in the distribution of the books because of an extensive audit done in the schools.

"We recognised that we have some weaknesses and so the entire system was audited, where we had to implement a new inventory management system, and new controls had to put in place," she said.

"We found, from the audit, that we have approximately $80 million worth of books that were in the schools that were not being used and not needed, plus approximately $120 million worth of books that we had to recall and we are currently redistributing to other schools," Sewell added.

"From the ministry's perspective, we have provided the education system with the requisite resources for a seamless start. No doubt, we will hear, coming closer to the time, the localised issues which are perennial to the system and as those are brought to my attention, we will respond and we will have them resolved," Education Minister Andrew Holness said.