WESTERN BUREAU – It was far from smooth sailing for some students in the western end of the island as they made their way back to school yesterday.

All the school principals interviewed in Hanover reported a fairly smooth start to the school year but over in Montego Bay, St James, 45 Grade One students of the Howard Cooke Primary School were turned away because their school block was still under construction.

Principal Lincoln James told the Observer that he had hoped that construction, which began nearly three years ago after the Parent Teachers’ Association saw the need for more space, would have been ready for the 2004/2005 school year.

The institution currently has about 1,300 students on roll.

Addressing several disappointed parents inside the incomplete block, he encouraged them to provide the necessary resources to complete the building.

One parent promised to bring a door today, while others said they would supply other materials – as well as labour – in an effort to have the facility completed.

“The building needs to be rendered, it needs painting, doors and windows and some electrical works, so we are hoping that all of those can be done by the end of the week, so that the children can come to school next Monday,” James explained.

At the nearby Catherine Hall Primary, there were no problems.

“Things went smoothly today; the registration of students was done well in advance and all of our teachers are in place,” said principal Deloris Moore.

Acting principal of Cornwall College Dave Soares was unable to say the same.

While only new students were at the all-boys school yesterday, several parents complained that they were unable to access textbooks under the government’s book rental scheme. According to Soares, the Ministry of Education has promised to deliver the books some time this week.

In Trelawny, the day brought mixed results. Students from Cedric Titus Comprehensive High, ClarksTown All-age and Kinloss Primary either missed or were late for classes after an early morning protest over poor road conditions.

And while there was a smooth start for students of Muschette Comprehensive and the William Knibb High schools in the parish, there were some reports that other primary and all-age schools were experiencing a “minor” shortage of furniture.

Over in Westmoreland, the Mannings High School experienced overcrowding and could only accept 10 of the more than 40 students who were placed there, based on the pupils success in the Grade Nine Achievement Test. School principal Bonitto White said the other 30 students would be distributed to other high schools in the western region.

White added that the school’s library, housed in the Thomas Manning building, was not yet ready for use as that building is still under repairs.

“But apart from this, we were fairly prepared for the reopening,” he added.