KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Meadowbrook High School has hit back for being portrayed as “unsympathetic” towards the plight of the physically challenged after a wheelchair-bound boy who was initially placed at the school will instead be accommodated at Jamaica College (JC).

The boy, 11- year-old Alex Fraser was initially placed at Meadowbrook based on his performance in the 2018 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT); however, Meadowbrook said that it did not have the facilities to accommodate him. The Education Ministry then intervened.

Following consultations with the Ministry, the administration at Jamaica College said that it could accept Alex in September.

Read: Jamaica College accepts wheelchair-bound student

However Meadowbrook in a statement last night said that how they were portrayed was far removed from the truth. They said that they have had an outstanding record of working with students having visual and hearing challenges.

“We have had blind students represent us and be our ambassador on ‘Schools’ Challenge Quiz’ and the ‘All Together Sing’ interschool competitions.”

The school argued that the present misunderstanding stems from a report carried in the public media that they refused to register Alex because he was confined to a wheelchair.

However Meadowbrook refuted the claims saying that what was actually said to the parent was that the “school has never had a wheelchair child before and that this situation was new for us.Further, the school has no wheelchair access to its classrooms or facilities and in the immediate case of our grade 7 classrooms are on the 2nd and 3rd floors and so I would have to speak of this with the Ministry of Education before we proceed,” Principal Michael Peart said.