Schools must follow repair protocols – education minister

Education Minister Senator Dana Morris Dixon is urging schools not to undertake repairs outside the Ministry of Education’s established protocols as the ministry awaits a second report on the condition of Balcombe Drive Primary and Junior High School in Kingston.

Morris Dixon said the reports are needed to properly assess the school’s condition before any repair work is authorised.

The minister was responding to questions from reporters yesterday after unveiling a monument to twin Hydel and Cumberland high schools in Portmore, St Catherine.

Her comments follow criticism from Alden Brown, chairman of the Balcombe Drive Primary and Junior High School Board, who accused the ministry of neglecting the institution despite its deteriorating condition.

Brown said several letters outlining the school’s infrastructural challenges had been sent to the ministry without receiving a response.

In her first official response to the concerns, Morris Dixon said schools seeking assistance should receive support but must also adhere to established procedures.

“The building team has been asked to send in a report, and Region One has sent in a report, but the ministry is waiting for the other report.”

She explained that the ministry’s building teams conduct assessments alongside engineers before any work is approved.

“What is also important is that we have to have really good people into our schools to do the work, so there is a process and protocols that must be followed.

“When the building teams go, they go with engineers who assess the condition of the structure before any work is done,” Morris Dixon said.

‘Call me.’

Following the tragic death of a construction work last week, Brown had said that, after receiving no response from the ministry, the school engaged a local contractor to carry out limited repairs.

Morris Dixon acknowledged that schools sometimes try to address problems on their own but warned that doing so could create complications.

“So we say to the schools, if you are having issues and you are writing and get no response, call me so I can intervene, but we have to follow the protocol,” the minister stressed.

She said information available to her indicates that the regional director had spoken with the principal and board chairman before the fatal incident and assured them that a building officer would visit the school to conduct an assessment.

The minister also sought to reassure parents and students that classes would not be disrupted, noting that the collapsed section of the structure was a walkway.

The issue came into sharp focus following the death of 45-year-old construction worker Shine Johnson, who was crushed by falling concrete while attempting to demolish a section of the walkway without the proper support system in place last Tuesday.

ruddy.mathison@gleanerjm.com