KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Education, Youth and Information Senator Ruel Reid will visit and make an assessment of several schools in Clarendon, Manchester and St Elizabeth today. His visit follows yesterday’s widespread flooding caused by heavy rain, which led to the closure of all schools in those parishes.

The education minister told OBSERVER ONLINE a short while ago that “St Elizabeth is one of the parishes affected by the persistent bad weather, so I am passing through Clarendon, Manchester and St Elizabeth to get a first-hand account on the status of the school system in these parishes.” Reid also said, so far, there are no reports of schools being closed today.The minister in a release last night said all schools should reopen today, he emphasised however, that everyone should monitor the media for regular updates to determine if the weather conditions would allow safe commute to schools.He said education officials will be guided by assessments of the conditions of schools not being used as shelters and the reports from the Met Service and Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).According to the Meteorological Office of Jamaica, the rainfall, which has lashed sections of the island unrelentingly since Saturday, is as a result of a broad trough located west of the island. The system is expected to continue affecting all parishes into Thursday.Shanica Blair