Black River High to be removed from shift system

Come September, Black River High School in St Elizabeth will no longer operate on a shift system. 

Minister of Education Fayval Williams says she inherited 30 shift schools when she became minister and has set about ensuring that the ministry receives adequate budgetary allocation to create additional classrooms at primary and secondary institutions.

Black River High has a population of 1,580 students.

Principal Christopher Romans told The Gleaner that the education ministry, in collaboration with the Japanese government, constructed a new block that consists of eight classrooms, a science laboratory, and a home economics laboratory. 

The principal said the school has also built two additional classrooms to further expand capacity. 

“There are areas that we will repurpose into classrooms. For example, we will convert one of the old science labs into a classroom, and other spaces that the home economics department will no longer occupy, we will convert them into classrooms to create more space,” he told The Gleaner. 

Romans said parents are elated about the transition as some students travel from deep rural areas of St Elizabeth and transportation has always been a challenge. 

“From the meetings we have had with them, they are really looking forward to us coming off shift. Our only concern now is to ensure that transportation is in place so that all 1,580 students can get to school on time,” he said. 

- Judana Murphy 

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