Dear Editor,

Fi We Children Foundation (FWCF) is condemning Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness’s remark that children at Holland Primary School are “learning closer to nature” as concerns mount over students returning to schools still affected by delayed repairs and inadequate post-Hurricane Melissa recovery.

FWCF says the remark risks romanticising conditions that children should not be expected to accept, particularly when students are learning in temporary facilities, near ongoing construction, or in environments that may not meet appropriate standards for safe and healthy learning.

Children forced to learn under compromised conditions should not have those circumstances presented as an educational advantage.

Since Hurricane Melissa last October, significant concerns have persisted regarding the pace of repairs to schools damaged across several parishes. With a new academic term now underway, children in communities across St James, Hanover, St Elizabeth, and Trelawny continue to face the consequences of delayed recovery and inadequate learning infrastructure.

The Government must resist the temptation to treat legitimate public concern as a public relations problem. Parents, educators, students, and communities are entitled to clear answers regarding why repairs were not sufficiently completed before the start of the academic year and when affected schools will be restored to safe and appropriate conditions.

The Minister of Education Dr Dana Morris Dixon has pointed to a shortage of registered contractors as one factor contributing to delays. However, FWCF questions whether this challenge should have been identified and addressed much earlier in the recovery process. Effective disaster recovery requires planning, procurement, and contingency measures that anticipate foreseeable implementation challenges before children have already returned to compromised learning environments.

More fundamentally, Jamaica must confront the message being sent to children affected by Hurricane Melissa. Their right to education and dignity does not mean being placed somewhere and told they are learning.

No child should be expected to attend school in an active construction environment, and temporary arrangements must not become an excuse for normalising conditions that compromise children’s safety, health, dignity, or educational experience.

The Government must urgently provide the public with transparent timelines for the completion of school repairs, explain the safeguards in place for children attending schools undergoing construction, and ensure that disaster recovery efforts are guided by children’s rights rather than public relations narratives.

Fi Wi Children Foundation