TRELAWNY, Jamaica – Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Desmond McKenzie, has expressed grave concern over the recent disclosure by the Minister of Education, Fayval Williams, that a quarter of high schools across the island are graded as non-performing.

Recently, the education minister disclosed that of the 180 high schools across the island, 25 per cent are classified as non-performing.

“I listened with concern, the comments of my colleague cabinet minister when she talked about the number of failing schools in Jamaica. And as a member of Parliament who has what is considered an inner-city constituency I am concerned because when you get a child leaving primary school entering high school and can’t read, can’t spell, can’t add one and one together and you are putting them into a high school,” McKenzie said.

He reflected that before his Jamaica Labour Party formed the Government in 2016, he highlighted his concerns over schools with challenges given the same budgetary allocation as other schools.

“This (schools failing) is not happening since 2016. I remember when I was on the other (Opposition) side, as first-term member of Parliament, I raised the issue in the Parliament about the fact that there are certain schools that have challenges but we expect those schools to perform with the same resources and nothing extra,” McKenzie said.

He was speaking on Friday at the official opening of the Falmouth Homeless Shelter in Trelawny.

The local government minister stressed the importance of nurturing students at the early childhood level.

“It makes no sense to break them when the horse gone through the gate,” he remarked.