Ministry tackles physical, psychological recovery in schools

The Ministry of Education has announced that it will convene a meeting today with key education stakeholders – including the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, the National Secondary Students’ Council, the Jamaica Union of Churches, and the National Parent-Teacher Association – to discuss strategies for returning children to school as quickly as possible.

Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon explained that Hurricane Melissa, which struck Jamaica last Tuesday, caused extensive infrastructural damage to schools across the island, particularly in western parishes where the storm made landfall.

“Many of our schools sustained a lot of damage, significant damage, and one of the things when we’re talking about Hurricane Melissa and its impact is that it did not only affect a few areas. It’s really across the country,” she said yesterday at a press conference.

According to Morris Dixon, today’s meeting will focus on finding ways to minimise potential learning loss resulting from the school closures.

“We’re going to have to figure out how we do it – how we get schools back up in the west. It’s going to require innovation; we may have to use tents or other creative solutions. But we’ll figure it out,” she said.

While noting that the western parishes bore the brunt of the storm, Morris Dixon added that schools in Clarendon and Manchester were also significantly affected.

Last week, she indicated that schools in parishes less impacted by the hurricane would reopen this week, leaving final decisions to school boards and principals based on local conditions. Kingston, St Andrew, and St Catherine were among the least affected areas.

Permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Kasan Troupe, told The Gleaner that 136 schools reopened yesterday.

In St Ann, however, Aboukir High School remained closed.

Acting Principal Marsha Virgo told The Gleaner that the hurricane ripped roofs off several buildings, toppled a greenhouse and chicken coop on the school’s farm, and caused flooding across the compound. She added that some rooms were inaccessible due to swollen doors.

Virgo estimated that recovery for the school – which has 271 students and serves the communities of Alexandria, Cave Valley, Aboukir, and Brown’s Town – could cost approximately $30 million.

Virgo stressed that recovery efforts must also consider the psychological impact of the storm.

“We have to think about not just the physical damage, but also the psychological damage as well. People are still not able to get in touch with relatives,” she said, while conducting her own evaluation of the school.

“We have students who have lost their homes; houses have caved in and they had to run outside. Some staff members – we have not yet gotten in touch with them,” she said. “Mentally, I’m not sure where their heads are right now, because even one of our cooks, her entire roof was gone.”

Meanwhile, emphasising the mental health impact that the storm can have on those in the sector, Morris Dixon stated that the ministry has 30 psychologists and psychiatrists available through the ministry to provide psychological support to teachers, teachers and parents, as needed.

“I think we’re all going through collective trauma. I see it. Everywhere you go, you see it, and we have to think about that as a country,” she said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com