GREEN ISLAND, Hanover — At least two educators have thrown their support behind Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Mark Malabver’s assertion that the Government’s plan to build more science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) schools is unwarranted while existing institutions remain under-resourced.

Addressing the opening of the JTA’s three-day Education Conference 2026 at the Princess Grand Jamaica Resort in Green Island, Hanover, on Tuesday, Malabver argued that the national population has not seen the kind of growth that would necessitate such a move.

Vice-Principal of Cross Keys High School in Manchester, Lorraine Reid-Henningham, agreed. She noted that the school’s population has seen a steady decline of nearly 70 per cent since 2015.

“We are coming from a population of 900 students. Currently, we are at 271. And our current labs are…outdated. Our teachers have been pushing, they have been doing their best. However, they are lacking in resources,” Reid-Henningham told the Jamaica Observer Wednesday on the sidelines of the conference.

Cross Keys High was built in 1970, and Reid-Henningham noted that little has been done to improve the facilities since then.

“A few years ago, we got some resources that were donated to us. However, our industrial technique labs are still outdated. Many of the machines and equipment are needed to develop the skills that our students so need in a technologically driven world to develop STEM education. STEM is lacking because we are without the necessary equipment. Not only [are we] without the equipment, but the lab spaces are outdated,” she argued.

Reid-Henningham said the situation is extremely frustrating because it is tied to a problem that has long persisted.

“We lack financial resources. And it comes right back to how the schools are funded,” she said.

Reid-Henningham said approximately $700,000 was provided last month by the Government to operate the school for three to four months. She described the sum as inadequate.

“What can that do? Can it allow us to purchase the necessary resources that we need? No, we can’t. Our students are our chief stakeholders and we are not able to cater to their needs,” she said.

“While we get passes, when we look at the national pass rate — we will see 70, 80, 90 per cent in some areas — but it all comes down to what our teachers have been doing and their dedication and their improvisation and innovation to achieve and use their personal resources,” added Reid-Henningham.

She is also grappling with recent assertions that Cross Keys High, though under-resourced in vital areas, has too many teachers based on the size of its student population.

“Are we going to move those teachers into blank classrooms? Are we going to build those schools and build those new laboratories with not enough students to go there? Let us spend our money wisely. Let us invest in the current system that we have so we can invest in the foundation of this nation,” urged Reid-Henningham.

She foresees the possibility that public schools such as hers may close or merge with others.

Mathematics teacher at Spot Valley High School in St James, Omar Tomlinson, also weighed in on the issue raised by the JTA head.

“The only way building new schools would be in the best interest is if they plan to move the students from those old and dilapidated schools into the new ones and then demolish those or perhaps retrofit them for shelter use,” he argued.

In February, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness announced that construction of two of the six STEAM schools previously announced will start this year. They are to be constructed in St Ann and St Catherine. However, on Tuesday Malabver questioned the need for such institutions.

“We are told that the Government has borrowed a significant amount of money — I believe the figure is US$133 million — to build STEM and STEAM schools. I often ask the question: Why is it that we are building these institutions when there is not a population overgrowth? Why? And why are we seeking to invent the wheel, colleagues, when the foundation already exists in our technical schools, institutions, some of which are now being starved of resources in spite of the $400 million that has been allocated? It is really a drop in the bucket,” argued Malabver.

The JTA president said such a move only creates an uneven playing field.

“This approach of building additional schools risks deepening the inequality, creating a system where only a select few have access to world-class opportunities while the majority are left behind. That cannot be acceptable. Every child, regardless of which school he or she attends, must have access to quality STEAM/TVET education,” stated Malabver.

TVET is the abbreviation for technical and vocational education and training.

Malabver has suggested that the Government rethink its decision.

“Upgrade all existing [schools]. Let us start with the technical schools and build out from there. Embark on an aggressive campaign to modernise our labs across the system. This thing where you do a lab there, and you do a lab there, and you do a lab over there can’t work; it will not do anything to transform anything. We must adopt a revolutionary approach to our education, building out the infrastructure in a very aggressive way,” urged the president of the teachers’ union.

The Education Conference 2026 is being held under the theme ‘Future-proofing Education in Times of Crisis: Advancing STEAM and TVET to Sustain Innovation, Resilience, and Recovery.’