SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — One month after Hurricane Beryl caused damage and loss of utility services to several schools across the island, 225 of the 1,010 public primary and secondary schools are yet to receive electricity supply.

Education Minister Fayval Williams said this information has been communicated to Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Minister Daryl Vaz and she is hopeful that this will be resolved in time for the new school term which starts on September 2.

“We are very hopeful. We have four weeks ahead of us and I know that Minister Vaz is on the back of JPS [Jamaica Public Service Company] every day to get out there and connect households, businesses, and now having brought to his attention, the schools,” said Williams.

“I know that he [Vaz] will be advocating for the schools to be restored,” added Williams who was addressing a media briefing following a tour of Manning’s School in Westmoreland. The school was one of four seriously damaged institutions she visited on Wednesday.

The other institutions were Merlene Ottey High School in Hanover and Unity Primary and Georges Plain Primary schools in Westmoreland.

The four schools fall under the ministry’s priority one list of schools that are currently being given attention under the Government’s emergency procurement process.

Manning’s School Board Chairman Moses Chybar thanked the minister and her team for a quick and decisive response in getting repairs started.

Chybar, who is also the president of the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce, revealed that repair work has started at Manning’s School. He also noted that other works are to be carried out on the compound, including the teacher’s cottage.

Headmaster of Manning’s, Steve Gordon, later told the Jamaica Observer that the school suffered damage to its fourth form block and a section of the third form block.

“So the entire fourth form would have been out of class or will be out of class should we not repair the roof for September, and as I said before, there’s a section of the third form block that has been damaged. The entire roofing has been removed, and you’re talking about 12 classrooms that are out between both blocks,” said Gordon.

He said it was later realised that damage was done to other buildings, fences, electrical installations, and telephone network on the compound.

“We have damage to our telecommunications, we have damage to our electricals, so those are things that are seriously affected. What the minister said and what we have seen so far is giving us hope that we will have some extensive repairs done for September. They have mobilised persons on the ground already,” added Gordon.

He told the Observer that while the work is not guaranteed to be completed for September, online classes are not ideal.

“We currently have both modalities in terms of having school physically and then half a timetable, just in case, but we all know that the online schooling is not ideal. We have suffered greatly because of online school. So we want to ensure that we go back to September physical school,” said Gordon.