Morris Dixon: $628m allocated to address infrastructural issues this school year
Published:Friday | August 22, 2025 | 12:12 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon says $628 million has been allocated for the ministry’s school maintenance programme for the 2025-2026 school year.
According to her, 202 schools that are currently suffering from termite damage and other infrastructural issues are to benefit from repairs, while $2 billion will go towards fixing schools that were damaged during Hurricane Beryl.
Speaking on Wednesday at Jamaica Teachers’ Association’s 61st annual conference in Hanover, Morris Dixon identified some of the schools slated to benefit from the infrastructural repair plan.
“The infrastructure of schools is an issue, and every time I go to schools, I am told, ‘We need to fix this, look at this problem, this is something that we need to address’,” said Morris Dixon. “I agree with you (JTA delegates) completely that this is an area that we have to focus on, and so I am telling you that we have been increasing allocations to infrastructure, and we are going to continue to do that.
“In 2015, we would have spent $95 million on infrastructure, but this year, we are spending $628 million on school repairs and maintenance. We have schools like Lucky Valley Primary [in St Catherine] and many more that will get termite treatment, plus Fort George Primary and Infant School [in St Ann] will get roof repair,” explained Morris Dixon. “There are 202 schools that are going to benefit from the new capital projects that we will be doing, and the Ministry of Education has the list.”
Other schools that will benefit from infrastructural rehabilitation include Seaview Gardens Primary School in St Andrew, Oracabessa Primary School in St Mary, and Boundbrook Primary School in Portland.
Regarding schools that were damaged during Hurricane Beryl’s passage in July 2024, Morris Dixon urged school administrators to check whether their institutions are on the Ministry of Education’s list of possible beneficiaries of the repair work to be done.
One of the things I was very happy to see was that, after the hurricane, financing was provided to fix the schools that had been damaged. But there are the Tier Two schools, in terms of Hurricane Beryl damage, that had not been repaired, and I was so happy when I saw the supplementary budget that we got over $2 billion to fix that next set of schools that had been damaged by Hurricane Beryl,” said Morris Dixon.
“If you have been damaged by Hurricane Beryl and never got your school repaired, please make sure you are on that list. If you are not on the list, tell me, or tell the permanent secretary,” she said.
Of the 364 schools that were impacted during Beryl’s passage, approximately 111 sustained severe damage. Schools that suffered moderate damage were classified as Tier Two in terms of priority for repairs, while those that suffered minor damage were deemed Tier Three.