THE Ministry of Education (MOE) yesterday indicated that it has met with the Salvation Army to ensure that there is no future closure of the boarding facility at the School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in St Andrew.

 On Wednesday, the Jamaica Observer reported that Salvation Army administrators and Ministry of Education staff had locked horns over several issues at the institution, including the shutdown of the dormitory.

 Both staff and students had indicated to the Observer that administrators had allegedly threatened to, on several occasions, shut down the dormitory facility, among other things.

The school, the only of its kind in the country, is a partnership between the education ministry and Salvation Army — the international charitable organisation. Although the property is owned and operated by the Salvation Army, the Ministry of Education provides funding, including payment for staff.

Approximately 65 students from rural Jamaica board at the institution.

“The Salvation Army has not advised the ministry of any intention to close the boarding facility. It should be noted, however, that closure of this facility would result in displacement of students who would not be able to access the school since they do not reside in Kingston, and as such, the ministry has been in dialogue with the Salvation Army to ensure the facility remains open in the best interest of the students,” the ministry said in a statement yesterday.

Relations between Ministry of Education staff and Salvation Army administrators came to a head last week, when the latter announced that it would close the boarding facility for the midterm break.

Salvation Army officials noted then that the shutdown was because of water issues as well as concerns over hygiene and the school’s inability to respond in the event of a fire.

However, e-mail correspondence from the school’s Principal Iyeke Erharuyi, seen by the Observer, indicated that this was not the case.

“…The Salvation Army decided to close the boarding facility for the midterm break. While this is not always the case during shorter breaks, several reasons were cited for this closure, including a broken water main at the institution.

“The decision, however, did not have the full support of the school’s administration since several students were identified who would be challenged in either getting home or returning after the break due to financial or other challenges.

“Despite these concerns raised by the school, the decision was taken to close for the midterm break. The dormitory has since reopened; however, and as is customary after a break, only about 10 per cent of the students had returned for the resumption earlier this week. Checks made today (yesterday) revealed that more than 90 per cent of the students are now back in boarding,” the statement from the ministry read.

In the meantime, Opposition spokesmanon social security and special abilities, Senator Dr Floyd Morris has called on Children’s Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison to look into claims by students of verbal abuse.

“I am asking the children’s advocate to investigate allegations that members of the management have referred to these children as ‘monkeys’ and ‘social outcasts’,” the senator said.

— Kimone Francis