Jamaica considers rotating school days as Hurricane Melissa repairs remain unfinished
St. Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth, suffered extensive structural damage following the passage of the powerful Category 5 Hurricane Melissa.
Key Points(5)
- The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information is preparing contingency plans, including rotating students on alternate days, for schools that may not be fully repaired when the 2026/27 academic year begins in September following widespread damage from Hurricane Melissa.
- Parliamentary Secretary in the ministry, Senator Marlon Morgan, said Monday that the government is working to restore as many schools as possible before the start of the new academic year but acknowledged that some institutions are unlikely to be fully ready when classes resume.
- He said alternative arrangements may be necessary to ensure that students can return to school safely while outstanding construction work continues.
- “We have to be responsible people… we have to be practical people and solutions-oriented people, in relation to managing and getting on… even while we have suffered displacement,” Morgan said during a tour of schools in St.
- Elizabeth to assess reconstruction efforts.
The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information is preparing contingency plans, including rotating students on alternate days, for schools that may not be fully repaired when the 2026/27 academic year begins in September following widespread damage from Hurricane Melissa.
Parliamentary Secretary in the ministry, Senator Marlon Morgan, said Monday that the government is working to restore as many schools as possible before the start of the new academic year but acknowledged that some institutions are unlikely to be fully ready when classes resume.
He said alternative arrangements may be necessary to ensure that students can return to school safely while outstanding construction work continues.
“We have to be responsible people… we have to be practical people and solutions-oriented people, in relation to managing and getting on… even while we have suffered displacement,” Morgan said during a tour of schools in St. Elizabeth to assess reconstruction efforts.
Morgan said the ministry is particularly concerned about the challenges of having construction crews working while schools are occupied, including noise, dust and other disruptions.
Contractors are therefore being urged to complete outstanding works as quickly as possible without compromising the quality of the repairs, he said.
Some schools face significant delays
At Glen Stuart Primary and Infant School, Morgan said rehabilitation works are being carried out at a cost of approximately $140 million.
Outstanding work includes the installation of zinc roofing for the canteen, windows in several classrooms and electrical work in the infant department.
Morgan attributed some of the delays to contractor-related challenges and adverse weather.
He praised the school’s principal, teachers, infant department caregivers, parents, guardians and students for maintaining the education process despite the difficult conditions following the hurricane.
The tour also included Elderslie Primary and Infant School and Maggotty High School, where rehabilitation work remains underway.
Maggotty High School faces a more significant delay, with only about 30% of the rehabilitation work completed. The school is not expected to be fully restored by the start of the new academic year.
Morgan described the pace of work there as “far from ideal,” pointing to outstanding roofing repairs and work on several classroom blocks.
Persistent afternoon rainfall and shortages of key construction materials, including zinc sheeting and window components, have contributed to delays, he said. Demand for those materials remains high across schools damaged by the hurricane.
Despite the setbacks, Morgan said the ministry is holding contractors accountable and pushing for measures to accelerate the work.
“Students must return to a proper, safe learning environment as soon as possible,” he said.
Education minister voices frustration
Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon has also expressed disappointment with the pace of reconstruction at hurricane-damaged schools.
Morris Dixon, along with State Minister Rhoda Moy Crawford and Works Minister Robert Morgan, has been reviewing rehabilitation work at affected schools across the island.
Speaking Tuesday at a Region 3 Back-to-School Conference in Trelawny, Morris Dixon said she had begun making unannounced visits to schools to assess the progress of repairs.
“I was going to look at where the repair is. The problem is, when they hear I'm coming, everybody working. So yesterday, I went unannounced to see whether or not there was work happening. And again, I say I was disappointed big time,” she said.
The minister said some contractors have been candid about which repairs will be completed by September and which will require additional time.
She said schools need accurate timelines so administrators can make appropriate arrangements for the start of the academic year.
“When you go to some schools, a contractor will be honest and say, ‘Look, this is what will be ready for September. These pieces will not be ready in time. They'll be ready mid-October, maybe late December.’ That's important,” Morris Dixon said.
She urged school leaders to demand clear timelines from contractors and escalate problems to regional directors when necessary.
J$5.7 billion allocated for school repairs
The government has allocated J$5.698 billion to repair 60 schools in Region 3, according to the ministry.
Morris Dixon said securing funding for the repairs had been a priority, but she remains concerned that some of the work is not progressing quickly enough.
The ministry has emphasized that schools must reopen in September while ensuring that students and teachers are able to operate in safe and reasonably comfortable environments while repairs continue.
Officials have also stressed that reconstruction is not focused solely on speed, but on building stronger infrastructure capable of better withstanding future hurricanes.
The government’s efforts come after Hurricane Melissa caused extensive damage to schools across Jamaica, leaving some institutions displaced and requiring major reconstruction before students can return to their regular classrooms.
