The Government is expecting to spend $31 million, as a first step, to help private schools — the majority of them early childhood facilities — recover from the damage they sustained during Hurricane Melissa’s rampage last October.

Minister of Education Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon made the disclosure during a ministerial statement in the Senate on Friday.

Morris Dixon told the Upper House that preliminary damage assessments conducted by the Early Childhood Commission across affected privately-operated early childhood institutions (ECIs) and independent schools, revealed that 318 of them were ECIs. The minister said the damage ranged from minor clean-up needs to severe structural damage.

A breakdown of the damage shows that 122 schools were severely impacted, 115 were moderately impacted, while the damage to 81 facilities was considered mild.

“Let me put that in terms of people: 24,143 children and 2,313 staff members enrolled or employed in ECIs have been impacted,” said the minister.

“We cannot allow our early childhood institutions to operate in a substandard state. Neuroscience and developmental studies are clear: the early years are when the brain is most adaptable. Our institutions are therefore an important pillar of that early development during these critical years,” she added.

Morris Dixon said quick analysis of the data showed that while a number of ECIs and independent schools sustained major structural damage requiring capital intervention, the majority experienced minor to moderate damage. Moderate damage includes flooding, debris accumulation, sanitation challenges, roof leaks, and damage to learning materials.

“These conditions require immediate clean-up and minor remedial works to restore safe learning environments for young children,” Morris Dixon said.

She told the Senate that based on a situational analysis of the state of the sector there will be an extension of the Rapid Resumption Grant to ECIs and independent schools that have already reported to the Early Childhood Commission.

These grants will be used to support urgent restoration activities and ensure the safe and timely resumption of services at the early childhood and independent schools level.

Clean-up grant values are tiered by severity of impact and can go up. Institutions that are severely impacted will receive $120,000, those moderately affected get $100,000, while those where the impact is determined to be mild will receive $80,000.

“Based on preliminary assessments, we are expected to disburse approximately $31 million in grants in the first tranche. Additional funding can be made available to ECIs should the need expand,” said Morris Dixon.

The grants are in addition to credit facilities offered through the Development Bank of Jamaica.