Hurricane Sandy spares schools

The Ministry of Education has said all schools in the parishes of Kingston, St Andrew, St Thomas, Portland, St Mary, St Ann and Trelawny will remain closed until Monday.

Schools in Clarendon, St James, St Elizabeth, Hanover, Westmoreland, St Catherine and Manchester are slated to open today.

Ronald Thwaites, the minister of education, said reports have indicated that very few schools have suffered damage during the passage of Hurricane Sandy.

"The only reason why these schools will remain closed is because of the uncertainty of electricity and water," Thwaites told The Gleaner.

In the meantime, the education minister said Donald Quarrie High School in St Andrew is the only school that has reported severe damage.

"I visited the Donald Quarrie High School this morning (yesterday morning) and they had some really serious damage. Their industrial complex is gone, the structure is still there but the water has resulted in some serious deterioration and it needs repairs, so it will be partially reopened on Monday," he said.