KINGSTON, Jamaica — Amid reports of possible industrial action by the island’s public sector teachers this week, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information says it has put in place contingency plans to ensure that provisions are made for the safety and security of students.

The ministry in a release today said that in order to ensure that all schools across the island will be effectively manned during this period, a plan of action has already been effected.

Regional Response Teams (RRTs) comprising officers from the Ministry of Education, select tertiary institutions, Secondary Schools Student bodies and the National Parent Teachers Association of Jamaica are reportedly being briefed and placed on standby alert to take charge of classes as of tomorrow for the duration of the school day.

At the end of the day, the ministry said students will be sent home with an advisory from their school board indicating whether or not school will reopen the next day.

Plans are reportedly being put in place for 760 Primary, All Age and Primary and Junior High Schools and 171 High Schools.

The ministry said parents with students at Special Education Schools and Departments as well as Infant Schools and Infant Departments will be alerted through the media, telephone calls and the schools’ SMS to collect their children at school as soon as they are advised of the industrial action.

They will be further asked to keep their children home for the period of the industrial action, the ministry said.

In the meantime, the ministry said the following events previously slated for tomorrow have been postponed:

– All training for the Alternative Pathways to Secondary Education (APSE) programme;

– Principal Leadership Training

– All meetings scheduled for tomorrow morning with ministry officers.