Over 700 schools designated as hurricane shelters, but principals raise concerns

At least 768 institutions under the Ministry of Education (MOE) have been designated as hurricane shelters, serving as safe havens for the island’s most vulnerable residents during disasters. According to the MOE, these facilities are prepared for what is forecast to be an active hurricane season. However, some school administrators remain uneasy– especially regarding sanitation facilities.

For the 2025-2026 financial year, the MOE has allocated $628 million towards hurricane preparedness at 204 schools as part of a broader $5.8 billion infrastructure and maintenance budget. This follows last year’s $4.8 billion expenditure, much of it used to recover from Hurricane Beryl, a Category Four storm that severely impacted the education sector and crippled 101 institutions.

“With projections of increased storm activity and more intense weather systems due to the impact of climate change, the ministry has taken deliberate and comprehensive steps to ensure the resilience of the education sector, the safety of its stakeholders, and the continuity of learning,” the ministry said in response to Gleaner queries.

“In excess of 700 [schools] are designated as national shelters. Given this responsibility and the vital role schools play in national emergency response as designated shelters, preparedness is both a priority and a national imperative,” it continued.

“These facilities are regularly assessed to ensure they are ready to safely accommodate displaced persons. The shelter managers and our principals work collaboratively to activate, prepare, and monitor the shelters as needed before, during, and after any disaster; and our technical experts conduct post-disaster checks to effect repairs as needed as part of the reopening exercise,” noted the MOE, which outlined a multipronged approach to disaster preparedness and shelter operations.

To minimise disruptions to education, the MOE said it has developed various online and broadcast learning programmes and partnered with churches and other institutions to use their spaces if needed. Additionally, schools are instructed to offer extra classes and other interventions to ensure that no student is left behind.

While the MOE did not identify the schools that were designated shelters, many of which are well known to local communities, a comprehensive list is available on the website of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).

Despite the noble intent, some school administrators remain cautious. Weeks after Hurricane Beryl, The Gleaner highlighted the challenges faced by shelter occupants, many of whom remained in schools long after the storm due to lack of suitable housing or land-ownership documents, which hindered reconstruction support. In many cases, inadequate bathroom facilities and relief supplies only worsened their hardship – an issue principals say needs urgent attention.

Arnoldo Allen, principal of New Forrest High School, one of the designated shelters in Mandeville, cautiously explained.

“The challenge I have at my school is that we don’t have bathroom facilities available for people to bathe. It is just the outside restrooms that we have, which are just about four cubicles on the boys’ side and I think five or six on the girls’ side. We don’t have any showering facilities, so they might have to set up some makeshift thing,” said Allen.

He added that while the school can accommodate dozens – mainly from Alligator Pond – valuable equipment is secured in restricted areas.

“The main concern is for the Government to furnish the areas with the things that people would need once you designate the area as a shelter – like cots for them to sleep on, food for them to eat, and so on,” explained Allen, whose school is still suffering from Beryl damage.

There are also no showers at Red Bank Primary School, a designated shelter in St Elizabeth, but persons occupying the shelter have access to the girls’ and boys’ bathroom stalls.

Principal Clover Evans said that despite this, her school can shelter a maximum of 70 persons.

“We can accommodate them because we have replaced the desk and the blades of the windows in which we would store them, and the kitchen is up and running. So if a hurricane is to come any time soon, we would be intact,” said Evans, explaining that 10 families can be accommodated at the primary school while another six can be housed at the infant department.

In the meantime, principals Cavene Bisasor-Headlam of Top Hill Primary in St Elizabeth and Lisa Homes-Shirley of Effortville Primary School in Clarendon say that they are fortunate that their schools, both still undergoing repairs from Hurricane Beryl, are not on the current list of shelters.

“They (residents) used to destroy the desks and whatever material. Even the boxes of books they would use for their sanity convenience. Some of them even when they are here for weeks wouldn’t make any effort to go home, so you would have to hold off some classes to facilitate them. I am sorry for those persons, but I don’t mind not being a shelter,” said Headlam.

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com