Education ministry on hunt for 1,000 unaccounted-for students in Region 4

The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Region 4, 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 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’s comments follow a recent call from Jamaica Prefects’ Association (JPA) President Nashá Patterson for urgent, coordinated action to locate and re-engage students who have stopped attending school following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

In an article published in The Gleaner, Patterson warned earlier this month that absenteeism is deepening learning loss and contributing to growing demotivation among teachers.

She said at the time that reports coming from Regions 4 (Hanover, Westmoreland and St James) and 5 (St Elizabeth and Manchester) had raised red flags for the student leadership body, with classrooms now operating at less than half their usual capacity.

In her comments, 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.

Use Student Registration Number

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 was facilitating connections with agencies such as the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education.

“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],” Pinnock told the Jamaica Information Service, the official state media organisation.

The JPA has said that it raised concerns directly with the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information during a stakeholder meeting last November.

Patterson argued that Jamaica already has systems in place that could be adapted to locate missing students.

“If we can verify voters for elections and go to people’s homes to confirm addresses, then we can very much go and find students,” Patterson said, noting that schools currently maintain databases with student addresses, making it possible for targeted outreach to be conducted through home visits and community engagement.

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

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