RESTORATION work has commenced on 340 of the 500 schools damaged during the passage of Hurricane Dean in August, education minister Andrew Holness disclosed yesterday.

According to Holness, the ministry has already disbursed $120 million to 258 schools, which include primary schools with under $1 million in damage, and secondary and tertiary level schools with less than $4 million in damage.

He said the funds being used for the repairs was originally earmarked for the education transformation process, but was spent “following an understanding with the Ministry of Finance”.

Work on the remaining 160 schools, he said, would begin by December.

“We have gone ahead and spent those funds because of the urgency of the damage in many cases,” Holness said, adding that “whatever funds we have used will not affect the transformation process”.

Hurricane Dean caused an estimated $700 million in damage to public institutions from the primary to tertiary level as it traversed the island’s eastern and southern shores on August 19. Schools in the parishes of St Elizabeth, Manchester and Clarendon were hardest hit.

Holness said the ministry was also forced to adjust existing repair contracts for 64 schools following the passage of the hurricane to the tune f $100 million.

He said the Ministry of Finance had committed $500 million for the repairs, which is expected to be given to his ministry next month for refund to the Transformation budget.

International funding agencies, he revealed, had provided $41 million which was being used to repair 18 schools.