The “mad rush” on the part of contractors hired by the National Education Trust to complete repair works to the main block of Portland Cottage Primary, which was on the list of priority one schools in the Ministry of Education’s Region 7, has left Principal Dale Edwards wary that the institution will suffer just as badly if another weather system should sweep the island like Hurricane Beryl on July 3.

“If another storm comes it will be the same results. In my view, a shelter should be decked and this is not as secure as it should be, and the pace at which they were going, it was a rushed job. Between the parish council and the Ministry of Education, they should have ensured that this was done properly,” Edwards told the Jamaica Observer news team during a visit to the school on Monday.

The primary school, which is the only one serving the Portland Cottage area in south Clarendon, opened its doors on Monday morning to its full complement of teachers, but signs that the institution was still in the throes of recovery were everywhere.

“This year’s start up is a bit different from the usual, based on the fact that we had a hurricane. Up to this morning we had contractors working. So our readiness in terms of cleaning up, it’s not the way we wanted it. It was sort of a mad rush to get the school to reopen on time, but the idea is to get it open and work out the remaining issues. It is not the way we wanted it, but we had to start,” the educator said.

According to Edwards, repair works on the school which, ironically, was a designated shelter during the storm, began two weeks ago with electrical works being completed just moments ahead of the start of school on Monday morning. He said wiring which was dislodged by the hurricane had been left hanging by the contractors, who insisted that it was not a part of their bill of works. The wires were only hoisted out of the way of the school population after he pointed out the dangers they posed.

While noting that absenteeism is an ongoing issue, the principal said a number of students on the register, which totals some 170, had not shown up for school. All nine teachers had reported for duty despite the fact that their staff room was in disarray, and books which had been received by the school for distribution this school year had been damaged by the storm and are yet to be replaced.

“As you can see, there is still some work because the guttering [for rain water harvesting from the school roof] hasn’t been completed; it had come down during the storm. There was damage to the perimeter fencing as well as the staff room and the main classroom block,” Edwards shared, gesturing to the abject-looking staff room.

“They might say they are finished,” he said, gesturing to the discoloured walls which had seen better days, and the untiled flooring which graced the crudely furnished room. “According to them, it’s almost as if ‘our job is to repair what was damaged’.”

In noting that the staff area, which also hosts two bathrooms, was still not habitable, he said the intention was to repurpose an area which had been renovated by Food For the Poor to house the staff and also an office area for him.

“They renovated several areas of the campus. I am moving over to that section,” he said while voicing disappointment that louvre windows that had graced the post-colonial frames had not been included in the renovation done six months ago by Food For the Poor under its Joe Mahfood Legacy Project.

“We are basically working with what we have, which is what we have been doing over the years, as you notice where we are located,” the principal said, referencing the location of the school which sits some distance away from the main road and is accessed by a dirt road which is heavily bushed, interrupted only by the odd house.

“We are still without Internet services. This is a school where support is needed. Normally the Government says to talk to your stakeholders, but most of the parents are unemployed and those who are in fishing, which is not so lucrative, we tend not to get that support and there are not a lot of businesses in the area,” Edwards said, noting that the school’s lunch programme is one of the key tools to get students out.