Given ‘political intrigue’ over recent days, a few other important developments probably passed under the radar even for those who closely follow current affairs.

Among them, the announcement by Education Minister Mrs Fayval Williams that four schools — Ocho Rios Primary, Naggo Head Primary, Bridgeport High, and Papine High — are being taken off the much-criticised and painful two-shift system this academic year.

Ocho Rios Primary was the first of the four to “transition”. That was on the opening day of the new school term on Monday, September 2.

The State-run Jamaica Information Service (JIS) reported Mrs Williams as telling her audience in Ocho Rios that, after this year there will be 27 schools “left to de-shift”, down from 38 when she became education minister in 2020.

Research suggests that after a speed-up in de-shifting a decade ago the process has slowed in more recent years.

In September 2015, for instance, reports said 20 schools had been removed from shift in the previous academic year with 12 more to follow in short order.

The plan then, as told to Jamaicans, was that the remaining 48 schools would have been taken off shift by 2017.

Since the system — derisively described as ‘half-day school’ — is still with us, we are left to presume that priorities changed after the 2016 election and a change of Government.

We believe it’s important to say that up to the 1970s only a small percentage of Jamaicans had access to high school education.

That’s the reason the Michael Manley-led Government of that time opted for the two-shift system as a way to rapidly provide high school spaces for the children of all Jamaicans — not just a select few.

At that time it was meant to be only temporary, while additional schools and classrooms were rapidly built.

That did not happen because of economic crises, soaring national debt and a shameful paucity of political will. Hence ‘half-day school’ remains with us.

To this day teachers complain that under the shift system it is extremely difficult to complete assigned curricula because of reduced hours; and there is very little time for specialised attention.

A cruel cut is that those with low marks in high school entrance exams, and therefore most in need of help, are the ones most likely to be placed at shift schools, often far from home. Students with the highest marks are assigned to high schools of choice.

Also, the shift system leaves very limited opportunity for extra-curricular activities such as sports and culture.

There are serious safety concerns since children on the morning shift must be on the streets very early, in order to get to school on time. Those on the afternoon shift often get home after dark.

This newspaper agrees with Mrs Williams that, by moving away from the shift system, “We are giving our students more time, more opportunities and a school day that supports both their academic success and their overall health…”

However, it’s not happening fast enough.

We believe that ahead of parliamentary elections due in a year’s time there should be an insistence from all quarters that whichever party forms the Government allocates the necessary resources to eliminate shift school as an absolute, urgent priority.