TRELAWNY, Jamaica— Education Minister Fayval Williams is urging teachers to understand that the Ministry of Education is not neglecting any schools damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl. Instead, Williams says the focus has been on addressing those that were most severely impacted.

Speaking at the Jamaica Teachers’ Association’s 60th annual conference, now underway at the Ocean Coral Spring Hotel in Trelawny, Minister Williams explained that the Ministry of Education could not address all 352 schools affected by the hurricane simultaneously.

As a result, the schools were categorised into three priority levels to address the most urgent needs first.

“We focused on priority one schools to get those back up and running, and we commit to priority two and three schools that your damage will also be repaired, but it will be done during the school year. So on September 2, you can open. What are some examples of priority two schools? Schools where a tree might have fallen and broken your boundary fence or wall that needs to be fixed. But will it stop your school from operating come September 2? No, it won’t. It shouldn’t. So we’re asking for understanding as we lay out our approach to this, so that schools don’t feel as if they’ve been neglected or victimised. It’s just a reality of prioritising the severely damaged schools versus those that are moderately damaged versus those with minor damage,” she stated.

The three-day conference will conclude later on Wednesday afternoon.