Old Harbour Primary Principal George Goode has welcomed the implementation of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) $89.2-million Safe Passage Project at the school in St Catherine.

According to Goode, he anticipates a significant enhancement of student safety when the project is done.

The contract for the project, which falls under the 10th cycle of the Caribbean Development Bank-funded Basic Needs Trust Fund, was signed on Tuesday at the Ministry of Education office in Kingston.

The scope of works includes construction of rails, sidewalks, erection of signage and construction of bus sheds to shield students from the elements as they await transportation at the end of the school day.

“Our school is benefiting from a Safe Passage Programme, and that is simply because we have had a number of experiences over the years where our students have been hit by vehicles on the road. It’s a very good stretch of road that we’re on, and so what has been happening is that the drivers…and bikers…tend to speed on the road,” said Goode.

He also highlighted challenges with indiscipline and charged that students are sometimes not well organised on the road and do not use it wisely.

“Thankfully, we have not had any deaths on the road. What this project is going to do is to prevent that from happening and ensure that the near misses don’t even happen again,” Goode said.

“The Safe Passage Project will also incorporate the whole matter of building new vendors’ stalls that will be at the side of the school; so, the students won’t have a need now to go across the road, which would put them in danger,” added Goode.

“We are really grateful for this project that will not only benefit the students but, indeed, the community. We just want to say thanks to JSIF and the Caribbean Development Bank for this wonderful partnership with our school,” Goode said.

— JIS