PRESIDENT of the Jamaica Teacher’s Association (JTA), Ena Barclay, yesterday called on public school teachers to maintain a high level of professionalism, despite the less-than-favourable working environment in which many of them will, as of Monday, have to operate.

“The association is aware that there are many schools throughout Jamaica that have significant damage occasioned by Hurricane Dean. Many teachers and students will be less than comfortable with their teaching and learning environments come (Monday),” said Barclay, in a statement yesterday.

“In the midst of (those) situations, however, I urge all teachers to exercise patience and the highest professional standards,” she said, adding that the JTA would be doing everything possible to ensure that the necessary repairs were expedited.

Following the pummelling of the island by Hurricane Dean, which passed south of Jamaica on Sunday, August 19, the Ministry of Education announced that more than 100 public schools had sustained structural and other damage. Many schools lost roofs, windows and doors. Desks, chairs, books, computers and other electrical equipment were also damaged in some cases.

The damage forced the ministry to order a one-week delay in the beginning of the 2007/08 academic year, moving it from September 3 to September 10.

In the face of the disruption and the displacement which teachers and students will undoubtedly experience come Monday, the JTA head asked teachers to be patient and to do their best with the resources that were available.

“With the best efforts of the Ministry of Education and Youth, we will have many challenges when the school year begins (on Monday),” Barclay said in her back-to-school statement.

“I call upon all stakeholders to use the start of the new year as an opportunity to re-double their efforts to provide the necessary resources and personnel that will protect especially our schools and institutions of learning from those who view nothing as sacred.

“Let us approach this new school year with renewed enthusiasm while we work passionately to ensure that ‘every child learns, because every child can’,” she said.

The ministry’s communications team promised to give details of the status of the repair work to date, tomorrow but Lauriston Wilson, director of project management and technical services, told the Observer that no major repairs have yet been effected.

“The ministry has already provided grants to some schools to carry out minor repairs but the procurement process is still being carried out for the major repairs,” he said.

Wilson said, however, that tarpaulins, plastic sheeting and other temporary equipment had been issued to the schools to ensure that basic operations could at least be handled.