Executive Director of the National Education Trust (NET), Latoya Harris-Ghartey, says the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information is committed to completing repairs to schools damaged by Hurricane Melissa.
“We want to ensure that when we leave your school, your school is better than it was last year or even before Hurricane Melissa. It’s important for us to create environments that help and nurture you. This takes time and we welcome feedback [on] any issues you’re having. Just send us an e-mail at info@ net.org.jm.,” Mrs. Harris-Ghartey said.
She emphasised that, especially when it came to safety, they wanted to know that schools were being managed in a manner that helped students and alleviated their challenges.
“We don’t want school construction to hinder teaching and learning; we want to ensure that we’re serving you and doing better. So, I just want to encourage you and let you know that we are working to ensure that you get a better school facility in the near future,” the Executive Director added.
She was speaking during a special briefing held on Monday (September 14), at the Ministry’s Caenwood Centre complex in Kingston.
Mrs. Harris-Ghartey also addressed complaints from principals and school boards that they had not been informed about what was taking place at their institutions.
She explained that a project is assigned to a project manager, who usually conducts a commencement meeting with the school’s stakeholders to introduce the contractors.
“I think because we had a lot of moving parts in terms of finalisation of bills of quantities, scope of works… the final scope may not have been communicated effectively to all stakeholders within a timely manner. I think it’s just the volume of projects assigned to a project manager… but also just the amount of time it really takes to go through each bill of quantities and to outline every step of the way [in terms of] what exactly the scope of works is,” Mrs. Harris Ghartey said.
The Executive Director acknowledged that communication with schools could be improved, noting that project managers are responsible for communicating with principals and school administrators on the details of each project, including determining which areas can reasonably remain accessible and which will require restricted access, as well as implementing the necessary safety protocols.
She said efforts remained focused on ensuring that schools were kept informed and reassured that the necessary repairs and restoration works would be carried out at their institutions.
“If that isn’t done, you can reach out to us and let us know, because we really need to ensure that safety is [prioritised], especially now that the schools [which], during the summer were active construction zones, [are] now [operating both as educational institutions] and construction [sites]. So it’s important that we communicate with the stakeholders, and we work with each stakeholder based on what is to be done within their school, including the protocols around not just communication, but also accessing the different areas,” Mrs. Harris-Ghartey said.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director said members of the public can access status reports on the rebuilding process through the Ministry’s website, as well as the National Education Trust’s website.
“There are also spreadsheets which detail the priority [schools]. So, priority one, priority two, priority three… and they indicate the contractor, the percentage completion and also any issues that are being experienced on the site,” Mrs. Harris-Ghartey indicated.
