The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Region Four, is intensifying efforts to locate approximately 1,000 students who remain unaccounted for following disruptions to the education system caused by Hurricane Melissa last year.

Regional Director Dr Michele Pinnock said that structured retrieval efforts are currently under way across the region.

These involve guidance counsellors, social workers, and school personnel conducting home visits and telephone outreach to trace affected students.

Pinnock outlined that some contact numbers on record are no longer functional and, in certain instances, families have relocated without providing updated information.

“Sometimes when we go out into the communities, we’re not able to get any information in terms of where the families would have relocated to,” the regional director stated.

The ministry is encouraging parents whose children have relocated to register them at the nearest school using the Student Registration Number (SRN) to track enrolment.

“We’re hoping to use the SRN…to locate any of these children throughout the whole island,” Pinnock explained.

She assured that for families experiencing financial or social challenges, the ministry is facilitating connections with agencies such as the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH).

“If their families are having any issues, we are able to connect them…to make sure that the children are able to come back [to school],” the regional director said.

Additionally, Pinnock noted that some schools are easing uniform requirements and, in certain cases, providing uniforms free of cost to support students’ return.

Meanwhile, she is expressing confidence that students in exam cohorts will be located during national exam registration, while efforts continue to trace those in lower grades.