Harrison: Put young men to work on school repairs

Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President LaSonja Harrison says the Government should use the shortage of labourers hampering school repairs as an opportunity to employ young men, expose them to the education system and help them acquire skills.

Harrison, speaking at a Rotary Club of Kingston luncheon on Thursday, said young men from communities could be recruited to assist with rehabilitation work at schools they once attended, while gaining practical experience that could lead to formal training and certification.

“This is the opportunity to round up some of them young man pon corner and carry them in and say, ‘Come youth, yuh must did go one school, man’,” she said.

“See your primary school over deh suh wey yuh did go waa some help. And pay them something. And while they're on the job, you know how many could learn something?”

Her comments came against the backdrop of Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon’s remarks that the pace of repairs at some schools was being affected by a shortage of labour, among other challenges.

“The reality is we have a limited number of contractors and contractors have indicated that they have issues with finding labour and they have also indicated that they have issues with supplies sometimes,” Morris Dixon said over the summer holidays, as preparations were underway for the new school year.

Harrison argued that rather than viewing the labour shortage solely as an obstacle to school repairs, the Government could use the situation to connect young people with opportunities in the skilled trades.

“They came in as labourers. But they could learn, they could develop an interest,” she said, suggesting that some could eventually be encouraged to pursue certification.

The JTA president said the approach could simultaneously help to speed up school repairs, provide young people with employment and create a pathway into skills training.

The Government has been under intense scrutiny over the pace of rehabilitation of schools damaged by Category 5 Hurricane Melissa in October last year.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Dr Kasan Troupe, told a post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday that renovations at 57 of the more than 300 schools that were extensively damaged have been completed. A further 95 should be completed by the end of October, while an additional 34 are expected to be completed by December.

- Tanesha Mundle

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