160 schools remain closed six weeks after Hurricane Melissa

 

The government says 160 schools remain closed for teaching and learning six weeks after the passage of Hurricane Melissa. 

 

Minister of Finance and the Public Service Fayval Williams says these schools are expected to reopen on January 6 next year. 

 

Of the 160 schools not yet reopened, 100 have been impacted by the Category 5 storm. 

 

Responding to questions during a meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament on Tuesday, Minister Williams said 59 of the schools are serving as shelters for persons displaced by the hurricane. 

 

She told the committee that of the 1,010 public schools across the country, 721 are damaged by Hurricane Melissa; some 850 schools have reopened. 

 

The Finance Minister said in addition to the allocation of $616 million to carry out clean up exercises in schools, the government has set aside $1.7 billion in the Third Supplementary Estimates for the Education Ministry for the period ending March 31 next year. 

 

"The $1.7 [billion] is to begin the efforts at repairing the schools - tents, ITC repair and so on. We know that it is going to cost way more than $1.7 billion, but that's a beginning allocation for the three months remaining in the financial year. I can tell you that, minister, based on the assessment of schools, the bill is about $15 billion. So as you can imagine, that will be allocated over multiple fiscal years," she stressed.