JTA President Mark Malabver - FILE PHOTO
.png)
By Prince Moore
The Jamaica Teachers Association, JTA, plans to write to the Ministries of Education and Local Government requesting that persons still using schools as shelters be relocated within three weeks.
JTA President Mark Malabver has declared that the prolonged use of schools as shelters, close to five months after hurricane Melissa, is of serious concern.
He wants the government to move quickly to relocate those still sheltering in educational facilities, insisting that "schools are not designed as longterm shelter facilities."
Instead, he wants it recognised that they are "spaces dedicated to the safety, development and protection of children."
"This concern is particularly acute in in our primary schools, where our youngest and most vulnerable students must be guaranteed secure, orderly and nurturing environments," he stressed.
Moreover, he noted, "teachers carry a profound duty of care," and therefore, "when a child enters a school gate, that child becomes the responsibility of caregivers."
But he argued that this duty of care is undermined under the current circumstances in some schools which are still being used as shelters, arguing that "teachers cannot reasonably be expected to guarantee the safety of children in environments where school operations are forced to coexist indefinitely with emergency shelter operations."
comments powered by Disqus
All feeds
